Chapter 628
The Phoenix Cries Today
Chapter 628 The Phoenix Cries Today (Final Chapter)
Fire in July.
The summer heat has only just begun.
The rain came and went, and the heat was intense. The city of Lijin was enveloped in a wave of heat. On the streets and alleys, there were hurried pedestrians, carrying the anxious and hurried feeling that was unique to this season.
For thousands of years, migrant workers on this land have lived like dogs, regardless of the weather. As a result, some people always miss their carefree student days.
The carefree students are already on holiday.
During the summer vacation, Xiangnan Normal University is deserted, like a barren island repeatedly washed and dried by rain, with cicadas chirping loudly and having occupied this territory.
Li Yufei lives in the dormitory of Huahe Building at the Normal University.
This was the first time in her life that she had stayed in a dormitory for such a long time, so it was inevitable that she would feel a little uncomfortable.
The temperature in Lijin during the summer vacation has already soared to 40 degrees Celsius. Without air conditioning, the dormitory is as hot as a sauna during the day. She can't sleep at night, and the bed always creaks when she turns over. Also, there is no one standing at the door nagging her to get up and eat breakfast when she is lazing in bed in the morning.
She is not alone.
Her roommate, Lin Lin, did not go back to her hometown.
She seems to be a pitiful girl as well.
After Liu Mingde's incident, all his promises to her vanished. Her dream of becoming a star, which she had pursued for over half a year, was shattered, and it felt like everything had returned to square one. Perhaps that's not entirely true; at least Liu Mingde gave her a considerable amount of money, and she still has a lot. But what was the price she paid?
After the initial period of hardship, Lin Lin seemed to have regained her strength. The light in her eyes was more realistic. She would put on makeup and dress up every day, and she would leave early and return late every day.
Li Yufei had nowhere to go.
Perhaps, she didn't want to go anywhere.
Lin Lin asked her why she didn't go home during summer vacation.
She didn't know how to answer.
Does this mean she's broken ties with her mother? Will she never go back to that home again?
She didn't know that she simply couldn't face her mother right now. But she always felt a pang of sadness; sometimes she felt incredibly disobedient and unfilial; sometimes she felt the weight of her mother's love was suffocating. She remembered reading a quote in a book: "Kidnapping in the name of love is the gentlest form of violence in the world, yet it leaves no trace, yet draws blood with every cut."
The nights are probably the hardest to endure.
The whole world was eerily quiet, as if no sound could be heard. Her body couldn't relax. At this moment, besides her mother, she thought more about Zhang Yunqi. When she closed her eyes, the whole world was him.
More than four years have passed in the blink of an eye. In fact, many things and people have changed, including her relationship with Zhang Yunqi. Over these four years, their relationship has evolved from unconscious misunderstandings to growing to know each other through spending time together, then to inexplicable liking, and finally to love etched into her heart. Now, it seems to have become a relationship that is suffocating her.
Over the years, many people have told her that Zhang Yunqi has a past with Chu Jian, and that she needs to be more rational, as loving him won't end well. She knows this is true, so she never argues or contradicts herself. She tries very, very hard to completely forget him, but she can't.
If you can't do it, then you can't. Just keep this innocent feeling in your heart. Who in this world hasn't had someone they love but can't have?
There's really nothing special about this.
But this guy was just so barbaric and unreasonable. Just when she was trying to let go, he barged into her life again. The moment she met him again at the Rijin Shuntian Kais Hotel last year, a tsunami raged in her heart.
At that moment, she seemed to have only one thought in her mind: I'm sorry for the first time we met, but I want the person you love too!
The question is, so what can you do?
No matter how much she cried last night, when she woke up this morning, the city was still bustling with traffic, and this ordinary world continued its relentless cycle of seasons according to its own laws. Individual joys and sorrows were truly insignificant. Compared to a year ago, her unrequited love seemed even more insignificant.
She forced herself to let go once again.
Live a good life, eat on time, and sleep on time.
When she had nothing to do, she would listen to music; when she missed him, she would listen to music too. The person who spent the most time with her every day was Lowell Lo, and the song she listened to most often was the ending theme of A Chinese Odyssey, "A Lifetime of Love": "You are at the edge of the sky, drifting beyond the white clouds, the sea of bitterness stirs up love and hate, sitting silently alone, gazing beyond the mortal world, though flowers may wither, they will bloom again, a lifetime of love, faintly visible beyond the white clouds..."
Lowell Lo's voice was mournful, but tinged with a hint of love.
It is compassionate.
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There are still some students in Huahelou who haven't gone home.
Most of these students work summer jobs, and in their free time in the evenings, they organize to play mahjong together, leading quite a colorful life. Sometimes they'll invite Li Yufei, but she doesn't know how to play mahjong, and seeing them playing for money, she's even less likely to participate.
One day, she was eating instant noodles in her dormitory.
Lin Lin just came back from outside and saw her eating instant noodles. She stood at the door for a long time without saying a word.
She felt her face getting hot. She also had the vanity of a young girl, so she forced herself to act nonchalant and said with a smile, "I loved eating this when I was little. I haven't had it in a long time, so I want to try it."
Eating instant noodles is nothing.
But she's already living a life where she eats instant noodles every day.
In fact, she had signed a contract with Yunjing Media. Although she didn't have any specific work for the time being after filming the Hunan culture documentary for Hunan TV, she still had a fixed salary. However, all her salary was in her China Construction Bank card, which was left on the dining table in the Huahao Hall of the Huatian Hotel. When she left the Huatian Hotel that day, she only had 75 yuan of pocket money left.
After returning to her dormitory, she bought an electric fan and some daily necessities, leaving her with only 38.6 yuan. She needed to make ends meet until next month's paycheck. Of course, she could borrow money from friends or ask her father, Li Jilin, for money. For this girl, these were all things that could be done with a simple question, but for some reason, she couldn't bring herself to say them.
Why would someone demean themselves like that?
Perhaps when a person can live according to their own ideas, poverty is just the difference between eating instant noodles and eating steak at night.
It may not be happy, but at least it's not too painful.
The university cafeteria was already closed, and eating at small restaurants outside would be quite expensive. Li Yufei had never considered this before, but now she had to be frugal and try to save every penny.
She learned for the first time that a boxed lunch with one meat dish and two vegetable dishes on the back street of the school cost 4 yuan, the more economical version cost 2.5 yuan, and the one with a large chicken leg cost 5 yuan—how extravagant! Packaged instant noodles were much cheaper; Hua Feng Sanxian Yi Mian only cost 50 cents. This price range was good, suitable for her, and should be enough to last her until next month's paycheck.
That's what Li Yufei thought. Although Huafeng Sanxian Yimian was quite unpalatable, on the bright side, she couldn't taste the flavors of delicacies now.
Lin Lin, however, thought differently and dragged her to a restaurant outside for a meal.
She won't go.
From then on, Lin Lin frequently ordered takeout to bring back to her dorm. Two portions. This meant Li Yufei had no choice but to eat them.
One evening during dinner, Li Yufei asked her what she was doing outside. She said she was always leaving early and coming home late.
Lin Lin said, "I work as a part-time model."
Li Yufei immediately asked, "Can I go?"
Lin Lin was taken aback and said, "Isn't this inappropriate?"
Li Yufei said, "What's wrong with that? It's about earning money with your own hands and feet."
Lin Lin said, "Your circumstances are different."
Li Yufei laughed: "Yes, I've gotten so good that I'm practically living off others."
To be honest, the two girls didn't have a very good relationship before, and there were some awkward reasons for it, but that's all in the past. After spending so much time together this summer, they've become close friends.
Lijin has professional model agencies. The agency where Lin Lin works part-time is called Xinmeiyu. They offer a wide variety of part-time jobs, including print advertising models, commercial promotional models, advertising models, wedding dress models, and photography models, among others.
Lin Lin will do anything, as long as it costs money. She always understood life clearly, and now she seems to understand it even more.
The next day, the sky was clear.
Li Yufei was preparing her resume in her dormitory. She had planned to go to Xinmei Entertainment for an interview with Lin Lin tomorrow, work for a month until she got paid next month, just enough to make a living and treat Lin Lin to a big meal. But at noon, she received a phone call.
To be precise, it was a phone call inviting her to a wedding banquet; a classmate she met in Zhuxiang Ancient Alley was getting married.
She lived in Zhuxiang Ancient Alley when she was a child and played with many of her friends there. Among them was a couple who were very close since childhood, practically childhood sweethearts. Later, she transferred to Lijin High School and they studied together again. The two classmates became a couple in high school. Their relationship interfered with their studies, and they didn't get into university. After graduation, they went south to work together. This April, she unexpectedly became pregnant, and now they have no choice but to get married.
Both the man and woman were just over 20 years old, and the man was not yet of legal marriage age. This surprised her, but it happened so naturally.
Li Yufei attended the wedding.
The students, who were on summer vacation, came back from all over the country. They hadn't seen each other for a year, but they hadn't changed much and were still laughing and joking. Li Yufei was no exception.
The wedding was held in the Zhuxiang Ancient Alley residential area.
Demolition work has already begun here.
Li Yufei heard from her classmates that the Zhuxiang Ancient Lane project was divided into two large areas. One was the Wangyueling commercial area, which covered a full 20 acres, and the other was the Zhuxiang Ancient Lane historical and cultural preservation area. However, only a few months had passed, and the commercial area was still in the demolition phase, with many streets and houses still untouched. The house of her classmate who was getting married was located in that area, and it was unclear when it would be completed. Meanwhile, the Zhuxiang Ancient Lane historical and cultural preservation area was already under construction.
The dinner that day was eaten on the grass.
Under the starry sky, a campfire is lit, and a warm breeze blows across the fields.
A simple platform was set up on the open grass, covered with a red carpet, and decorated with colorful lights and the character "囍" (double happiness).
In the first half of the night, everyone gathered around the campfire and ate two whole roasted lambs, drank all their beer, laughed and cried together, raised their glasses and sang and danced on the platform, reminiscing about the bright and passionate times of their youth.
In the middle of the night, some people egged the bride and groom on to come up on stage and tell their love story. As they talked, a large number of people in the audience burst into tears. This was the first couple among their classmates to get married. The story of childhood sweethearts finally getting married was touching in itself. These people, like the Monkey King standing under the city wall, watched the love of those around them and also reflected on their own fading youth.
After the bride and groom finished speaking, there was a lot of noise. Later, everyone called on Li Yufei to go up and sing. Her classmates all knew that this girl, who had shone brightly in high school, had already debuted as an artist and was quite famous.
Li Yufei went up.
She sang Lowell Lo's "A Lifetime of Love".
Her voice was poignant and beautiful, like a mournful lament in the starry sky. But before she could sing more than a few lines, some drunk students in the audience started jeering, "Li Yufei, I saw your commercial on CCTV! You even filmed a commercial with Jackie Chan! Remember to sign some autographs for us later!"
Some classmates said, "Li Yufei, do you know that back in high school, the line of your crushes stretched all the way to Mount Everest? When will I be able to cut in line?"
Another classmate said, "Xiaoqiang, I feel like it's easier for you to just daydream. Haven't you seen some news from Lijin lately? Goodness, now all the men pursuing our Yufei are billionaires."
Another classmate said, "Big star! No matter who you're with, all of us old classmates hope you'll be happy!"
Hearing her classmates' jokes, Li Yufei felt a pang of sadness welling up inside her, like a sharp blade piercing deep into her memories.
Just then, a low rumble of a car engine came from afar.
A black Mercedes-Benz S600 sped through the night, crossed the road, shattered the noise, and finally came to a silent stop at the entrance to the meadow.
The car door opened, and the windows reflected the light from the colorful lights and the flickering campfire. A young man stepped out.
Li Yufei stood on the stage.
Her body slowly began to tremble.
She didn't know what he was doing here at this time, but if longing had a voice, it would be deafening at this moment. But she did nothing.
She stared at him expressionlessly as he walked through the commotion, onto the makeshift platform, and stood before her, trying to take her hand. She pulled away, but tears streamed down her face uncontrollably. "What are you doing here?" she asked.
"Take you home."
"What right do you have to take me home?"
"Because I'm hungry, and you said you'd cook me a bowl of noodles."
"It's too late, I don't want to cook!"
Are you hungry? I'll cook for you.
"You're just being a scoundrel! You're just bullying me!" The girl seemed to have reached her breaking point. She had endured it for four years, and she didn't want to endure it anymore. She threw herself into the boy's arms, her small face covered in tears, her slender body still trembling: "Will you still not answer my calls? Will you still not reply to my messages? Will you still abandon me? Will you still leave me for no reason...?"
The music playing from the speakers on stage lingered under the boundless starry sky and on the green grass: "Love and hate surge in the sea of suffering, fate is inescapable in this world, I sit silently alone, gazing beyond the mortal realm, though flowers may wither, they will bloom again, the love of my life is faintly visible beyond the white clouds..."
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Volume Nine: The Phoenix's Cry - Final Chapter
(End of this chapter)