Shao Qun's eyes and tone were so sincere that Li Chengxiu was even more embarrassed when he heard it. He really hated Shao Qun back then. If it weren't for him, he wouldn't be a cook in a hotel today. He should be able to get into a good high school, a good university, and have a completely different life. But after fourteen or fifteen years, he had a more thorough understanding of many things, and he began to believe in fate. Shao Qun was already a distant and vague memory to him, just like he would not hate him for always robbing him when he was a child. Like a sweet child, he had no memory of this person for a long time.
Under such earnest looking eyes, Li Chengxiu showed a shallow smile. He felt that the hard lump that had been stuck in his heart had gradually melted away since he saw Shao Qun that day. So for the first time, he felt a sense of relief.
Looking at Shao Qun, he said clearly and without hesitation, "It's okay." Shao Qun looked at him, his eyes were so bright that Li Chengxiu was a little uncomfortable, so he turned his head away.
Delicately styled dim sum quickly came up, and Shao Qun warmly greeted him to eat.
Li Chengxiu didn't eat much, and he had just eaten dinner, so he didn't have much appetite, so he just picked up a few.
Shao Qun asked him how he was doing over the years while eating.
Li Chengxiu said in an understatement that he went to work after dropping out of school. Later, he said that there are many opportunities for part-time work in Shenzhen, so he came here.
Shao Qun nodded, was silent for a moment, and said, "After that incident, my family sent me to England, and when I came back, I looked for you, but I couldn't find you anymore."
Li Chengxiu thought of the difficulties and hardships at that time. Embarrassed, he felt stuffy in the chest, and didn't know what to say, so he sighed.
Shao Qun put down his chopsticks and reiterated, "I'm really happy to see you again."
No one has expressed enthusiasm or affection for Li Chengxiu for many years. He was used to being either hated or ignored, and it was somewhat flattering to him that someone could be happy to see him, even if it was just polite words. Shao Qun's superiority and brilliance suddenly became less repulsive to him. Li Chengxiu was in a much better mood, so he slowly said, "Thank you."
"I want to thank you, willing to help me with this."
Li Chengxiu remembered the "business" they were going to talk about, and asked, "Party, honestly, I have no idea how to do it, I have no experience."
"It doesn't matter, you don't have to be burdened. Specific things are handled by specific people, you only need to be responsible for setting the menu, the things to be purchased, and then make some preparations in advance, it's enough to prepare the dishes on the same day, which is not far from what you usually do in the hotel."
Li Chengxiu was relieved to hear this. He has never done similar work, only when the hotel received conference groups in the past, there may be something to learn from, but he is still afraid of messing up, and the days in the hotel will be even more difficult.
Shao Qun told him roughly how many people would come, the main flavors of the dishes, a few special dishes that must be included, etc. Li Chengxiu listened carefully.
In the end, Shao Qun said that he would take him to meet the person in charge of the party in two days, and then they would focus on discussing together.
After the meal, Li Chengxiu finally dispelled the nervousness in front of Shao Qun, and his speech became smoother and more complete.
Shao Qun endured and endured, but still asked, "You didn't speak like this before, why..."
Li Chengxiu was stunned for a moment, and the tongue that had just smoothed out seemed to be knotted again.
Before he knew Shao Qun, he was very taciturn. After dropping out, he became more autistic. The highest record is that he didn't say a word to anyone for a whole month.
When he was a child, he always played with girls. When he grew up and could tell the difference between men and women, his whole person, from his actions, his way of doing things, to his tone of speech, had already appeared strange and different among boys, so he was always regarded as someone to ridicule, In order to avoid being discovered, he could only cover it up with silence.
The less you speak, the less you make mistakes.
The two of them had a smooth chat that Li Chengxiu was a little lost for a while. Shao Qun's reminder seemed to knock him back to his original form.
Shao Qun also felt embarrassed, "I just asked casually."
Li Chengxiu lowered his eyes and nodded.
"But you haven't changed much, you're still the same as before."
Li Chengxiu sat up straight and subconsciously distanced himself from him.
"You too, haven't changed much."
Shao Qun curled his lips into a smile, "You know, after I saw you that day, I told Da Li and the others, do you still remember them?" Li Chengxiu shivered and his face became even paler.
Shao Qun also said to himself, "They are all very happy and want to see you very much. Da Li and Awen are in Beijing, and Xiaosheng is in Shanghai. Originally, I keep inviting them to the party, but they all said they were busy. Look, you have better face than me. Also......"
"No." Li Chengxiu whispered.
"What?"
"No." Li Chengxiu said with a trembling voice.
He didn't even want to see Shao Qun, let alone his friends. He didn't understand what would make them happy to see him.
They played him like a beast back then, and now they want to apologize to him as if nothing had happened? Have they become old classmates that haven't seen each other for many years? Are they good enough to reminisce and just laugh about it?
What happened back then can always be attributed to being young and ignorant, so he didn't care about it long ago. If it wasn't for Shao Qun's appearance, it should be said that he didn't remember it long ago.
But now this group of people is going to appear in front of him again. Just like being chased and bitten by a dog many years ago, even if the group of dogs has grown up and stopped biting people, he still has lingering fears and can't stop the disgust.
Shao Qun looked at him silently, suddenly raised his hand to touch his hair, and said softly, "If you don't want to see them, I won't let them come."
Li Chengxiu's felt his body was struck by lightning from being shocked and stood up from the chair. He hadn't had physical contact with anyone for a long time, and at this moment he had the urge to run through the door in panic.
Shao Qun retracted his hand in embarrassment, and a strange light flashed in his eyes. In a flash, he also stood up and said, "Are you full? Then I'll take you home."
Li Chengxiu nodded, picked up the plastic bag on the chair next to him, and followed Shao Qun quietly. As soon as Shao Qun turned around, he saw him bowing his head while holding the bag in his arms like a woman, walking slowly behind him. He frowned when after walking a few steps as they passed through the lobby of the tea house, he pulled a distance from him.
The two chatted a few more times on the road, Shao Qun sent him to the neighborhood indicated at the address Li Chengxiu said, looking at the dilapidated old-fashioned apartment outside through the car window, "You live in a place like this?"
There was even surprise in his tone.
Li Chengxiu's face was a little hot. He wanted to tell him that many people would live in this kind of place but he felt that it was useless to talk to people like him, so he said, "Thank you for sending me home. I'm going up."
Shao Qun nodded and unlocked the car door for him.
Li Chengxiu was about to open the door and get out of the car when Shao Qun suddenly stopped him.
"Chengxiu, when is your next break?"
"Next Wednesday."
Shao Qun shook his head, "Next Wednesday is too late, you should ask for a day off this Saturday."
Li Chengxiu was stunned, and felt a little uncomfortable. "I can't just ask for a leave."
"Why can't you ask for a leave? It's not as if you are the only employee in the hotel."
Li Chengxiu still shook his head, "Can't ask for leave." If you take a day off, you can't get the bonus, why should he ask for a leave for his sake?
Shao Qun finally showed a bit of impatience on his face, ripped his hair, and said, "If you are worried about your boss, I will say hello to him, that's it. I can't wait until next Wednesday, the time is too tight. I hope that the PARTY I hold can make people not pick out flaws, and I hope you can cooperate in this matter. Isn't that what I asked your boss for?"
Li Chengxiu was speechless, watching Shao Qun wave goodbye to him, and then raised the car window. The car sped out with a kick of the accelerator, as if it would be uncomfortable to stay for an extra second.
Li Chengxiu was still holding his tomorrow's breakfast.
He groaned and went upstairs by touching the dark corridor.
Every time he walked up the stairs, he was quite frightened.
The light bulb in the corridor was broken, and no one was repairing it all the year round. The stairs were narrow and steep. At night, he had to touch the wall to move forward, but the wall was bumpy and uneven. During the day, he often saw a lot of filthy things attached to it, and every time he went upstairs in the dark was a terrifying experience for him.
The moment he returned to his room and turned on the light, he was soaked with sweat, and lay down on the bed as if he had collapsed.
In the stairwell with no light, the darkness with no person in sight, the deadly silent campus, he cried and shouted to let him out, his voice echoed in the empty building, making it even more eerie.
This distant nightmare became even clearer because of the appearance of Shao Qun.
Li Chengxiu is actually surnamed Li.
Few people at school know this.
"Cheng" is a name given by his mother. Maybe from the beginning, the teachers called him Chengxiu, so everyone thought he was called Chengxiu.
No one in this school cares what Li Chengxiu's last name is or how his name is written, even though everyone from the junior high school to the high school knows him.
Whenever the students mentioned him, they used the nickname of his image that everyone recognized, "sissy".
Everyone must have encountered such a person in their school life.
Although they all look male from side to side, some actions, tone of voice, and the way they behave in the world make people feel they are feminine.
Li Chengxiu is such a person. Whether it is his actions, his tone, or his way of dealing with the world, he is very unmanly.
Li Chengxiu is actually not ugly, with fair and tender skin, straight eyebrows, clear outlines, and good grades. If it wasn't for him being like he was, he would definitely be liked by girls.
Even if he is a sissy, as long as he is open-minded, most people will accept him. Even if the first impression is uncomfortable but he may still get along seriously.
But he really made everyone unacceptable. Because he always exudes an unbearable smell. It's not the strong smell of wine, or the smell of greasy food in the kitchen, or a combination. No one ever saw him change his clothes a few times throughout the semester. Even an old teacher with excellent concentration can't help but frown and detour when they encounter him.
Even when talking to people, he is always gloomy. At thirteen or fourteen-year-old, he is half the size of a boy and is thinner than the girl. He walks lightly with his head lowered, and he looks weak and dejected, which makes people upset.
It is said that he was not so bad when he was a child. Although his family was not well-off and he was just as thin, he was still dressed cleanly, and he didn't look like he was malnourished. Later, it was said that his father ran away with other women, and took all the money except for a broken house. His mother was drinking too much every day and didn't care much about him.
He was able to go to the best key middle school in the city because of his hard work. He is said to be one of the few people in his county who was admitted to this school, so the county gave him money. Or in the school of the rich businessman's children, where can he get in.
His life experience or something is not a secret in the school. It is all the talk of everyone after class. Occasionally, there are a few who sympathize with him. As soon as they see his appearance, they all shake their heads.
He is such a person. He keeps his eyebrows down and doesn't argue with anyone. When someone mocks him, he doesn't say a word, even if his face turns red. If he is pushed and shoved, he just walks away with his shoulders and head down. He is so weak. It can only make those spoiled children intensify and treat him as an inflatable doll, wantonly venting their youthful arrogance and wickedness.
Whenever it's time to go out or when the class is over, Li Chengxiu is always the first to rush out of the classroom.
Usually, no one would rush to him. As long as everyone saw him, they would pinch their noses exaggeratedly and automatically back away several steps. He was used to this kind of harsh treatment. His young self-esteem was shattered by crushing it before it could take shape gradually numbing him.
Since his father left, the trajectory of his life in the past three years, if depicted as a diagram, is a triangle.
Home, restaurant, school.
The distance between the two places takes nearly an hour by bus.
Taking the bus every day is the most relaxing time of his day. He can just sit and not work, and he will think a lot at this time.
The family's 45-square-meter house in the old city is the only thing his mother has. The other expenses are all earned by him working in a restaurant run by a distant relative's family, and barely able to maintain the minimum living guarantee.
Now it's even more difficult than before.
In the past, when his mother was sober, he would go to sell vegetables, and he could get some money back every day. Not to mention when she's drunk, it's common to throw things and hit people. There are no electrical appliances in the house except for the lights. She smashes them all, so there's no money to buy them, which saves electricity. The only thing that is fortunate is that now that he has grown up, he can do less work after sweeping the floor. After learning from the master for a few years, now he has the opportunity to cook a few dishes, so the salary is higher than before.
Life goes on like that.
At that time, the only way he could comfort himself was to fantasize about his future.
He wanted to study hard, and the county promised that if he could be admitted to a provincial key high school, they would pay him to go to a key high school. With hard work, he could go to a good university and find a good job after graduation, preferably in a strange city where no one knows him so he can start a new life and his life will change from now on.
When he got home at night, it was past ten o'clock.
The house was still dark. He felt the stairs and walked up to the second floor. When he touched the doorknob, the door was not closed.
It's been several times but there's nothing in his house worth stealing anyway.
As soon as he stepped inside, he stepped on something and slid out a big step. Fortunately, he held the door frame steady, or he would have to lie on the ground. With the moonlight to help him look over, he saw a translucent plastic bag in the same place, and there was still a lot of liquid lying there.
This is the kind of wine his mother often drinks. He remembered that in the chemistry class last year, the teacher also mentioned that many of these cheap bagged wines contained industrial alcohol. He went home and told his mother that. He was slapped a few times in the face and was told never to mention it again.
He felt the wall to find the pull cord of the electric light, and the moment the room lit up, he heard a vague curse.
With a sigh, he walked over to help up the drunk middle-aged woman on the ground, struggling to help her to the bed and cover the quilt.
It's okay for him when she's not awake. All he can think of is that he almost feels like air but at least he won't be beaten and scolded, and he'll cook for her. It's a pity that she is less and less awake now, and she keeps muttering dissatisfaction and resentment, which he is used to hearing.
After he finished cooking, he started to clean up the mess in the room.
His home used to be always clean. His mother was actually a capable woman, and she had a good face. She used to be someone who could not swallow to see any unpleasant places in her home.
He also doesn't want to go to school with a bad smell every day, but the water bill is too expensive, he can't take a shower every day, and there are only two or three pieces of clothes that can be worn, and they are all given by the people in the restaurant, and it wouldn't be practical to wash them every day.
At first, the eyes of the classmates and teachers around him really stabbed him, and then he became numb. He just thought that if he made money in the future, he could clean himself up and make friends. Then... ...It would be nice to be able to eat and wear warm clothes.
Li Chengxiu's only hope is the future. The power that can support his 24 hours of rest a day, which adds up to less than five hours of life-threatening wheel rotation, or in the future, he thinks about his hard work, and if he works hard, it will be completely different. Yes, a bright future.