Chapter 25
I feel like I'll never love again
I opened my eyes to the familiar ceiling.
Lu Li lay on the bed in a daze for a while.
Then he took out his phone and casually swiped through various notifications.
Raindrops splashed on the windowsill as the cigarette dangling from his lips lit up.
In a daze, the past of being surrounded by beautiful women on both sides vanished when I woke up from the dream.
There was no trace of anyone else in the house.
Except for the two little red books by the bedside.
I should have taken some group photos back then.
Lu Li chuckled self-deprecatingly and stubbed out the cigarette he had only taken one puff of in the ashtray on the bedside table.
Get up and take a shower.
He has been skipping breakfast again for a week now.
It's the weekend, so I don't need to go to the office.
In the living room, Lu Li turned his head and glanced out the window.
The windowpane was blurred by the rain.
After brewing a cup of tea and preparing cigarettes and an ashtray, Lu Li lay half-reclined on the sofa and started scrolling through his phone.
I didn't eat lunch either.
I casually browsed through the food delivery apps and realized I'd already tried all the nearby restaurants.
Even for the furthest places... it would take an hour to arrive.
They casually whiled away the time, and soon it was five o'clock in the afternoon.
The phone suddenly rang.
The caller ID showed "Young Master Pan".
Lu Li casually answered the phone, "Hmm?"
"Li, what are you doing?"
Lu Li yawned. "Just sitting around doing nothing. What can you do on the weekend?"
"Shall we meet up?"
"Who are they?"
"You, me, Lao Hao, and Mule said we'd be here in a bit."
Lu Li thought for a moment, "Location, send me the location."
"Okay, hurry up."
After hanging up the phone, Lu Li got up and stretched.
He touched his chin.
He hadn't shaved, and his hair wasn't styled.
But it doesn't matter anymore.
He wasn't wearing a suit today either. He wore a white short-sleeved T-shirt, khaki shorts, and Crocs before setting off on his scooter.
Upon arriving at their destination, the two men continued to have a few drinks.
The man with slicked-back hair and fair skin is Pan Shuai, the one who just called Lu Li.
The other guy, who has dark skin, is named Hao Liang.
They were high school classmates and have known each other for thirteen or fourteen years.
As soon as he sat down, Lu Li raised an eyebrow. "Why is it just the two of you today?"
"Sigh, Old Zhu's with his wife. Nie Zi just found someone, and they're really getting along well right now. He won't answer my calls, though. Let's not talk about them."
Lu Li clinked glasses with them and asked, "He found a girlfriend?"
"Hmm, I just found it. Didn't you check your WeChat Moments?"
"No." Lu Li took a sip of wine and smiled. "Back then, I said that even if I found a girlfriend, I wouldn't stop going out to parties like Brother Xiang. I didn't expect that guy to contradict himself."
Their circle originally consisted of ten people, and they had been getting together almost every week since graduation.
But now the three of them have gone to Beijing, and apart from getting together during holidays, they basically only communicate on WeChat.
Two of them haven't been out much since they got married.
Now another one has left the group.
It was only at this moment that Lu Li realized how fast time had passed.
After several rounds of drinks and dishes, Pan Shao received a phone call.
When are you coming?
"Okay, I got it. You go ahead with your work."
He shrugged after hanging up the phone. "Mule's working overtime, he can't make it. It'll just be the three of us today."
"We're both busy, aren't we?" Lu Li clinked glasses with him.
Hao Liang, who had been silent the whole time, took a sip of his drink and sighed, "I was hoping to work overtime, but unfortunately I didn't get the chance."
"How much money do you two have in your cards?"
"It's over 40,000, but I have a mortgage and car loan of over 5,000 every month. This money was given to me by my mother."
"I don't have to pay the car loan, but my monthly mortgage payment is 6,000. That money will only last me three months."
"I only have 1,600 in my account," Hao Liang sighed. "Our company is about to go under. If this company collapses, I'll have to find a job right away. I just want to do something on my own. This job really doesn't pay well."
"Then why don't you go work for my brother? I told you, but you won't go anyway," Pan Shuai said, pouting.
"What could I possibly do? It's like entering a completely different world." Hao Liang downed his beer in one gulp, then stood up and pulled out his phone. "How much?"
When they get together, they usually split the bill (go Dutch).
"Sixty, we can calculate it again when we get back, it'll be the same."
"Forget it, I told my wife I'm working overtime today. I'll transfer the money to you and then delete the transfer record. Besides, I need to go back and change the baby's diaper."
After transferring the money, Hao Liang waved his hand, went out, got on his electric scooter, and left.
"Tsk." Pan Shuai clicked his tongue, turned around and looked Lu Li up and down, "Old Lu, aren't you going to find a girlfriend yet?"
He didn't care; he was just a rich kid with two older brothers and two older sisters.
He was the youngest son in the family, and his parents doted on him.
Although he has car and mortgage payments, he doesn't actually need to spend his own money.
Moreover, he's a womanizer; although he's nominally single, he's never stopped having female companions.
Lu Li smiled without saying a word.
Pan Shuai sighed helplessly, "Your standards are really high."
"No, it's just..." Lu Li took a sip, and the images of Miss Bai and Miss Luo flashed through his mind again, "I feel like I'll never love again."
"..." Pan Shuai looked at him like he was an idiot. "You were born in '92, that's fifteen years ago!"
Lu Li: "..."
There's absolutely no atmosphere here.
He suddenly realized that the beer in his mouth had lost its flavor.
Although he had only planned to have two or three drinks.
"You wait." Pan Shuai took out his phone and made a call.
"Hey? Honey, your best friend went on a blind date too, didn't you send me a single photo?"
"No, my buddy is also looking for a girlfriend. She's 28, 1.8 meters tall, has a car and a house, is handsome, her parents have weekends off and pensions, and she's healthy with no illnesses or disasters."
"Okay, hurry up."
He stared at Lu Li for a moment, then blurted out, "Where the hell did you get this wife?"
"Every woman I dated was my wife."
Pan Shao chuckled, and then the phone rang.
He glanced at it, his eyes lit up, and then he pulled out his phone. "Look at this! This face! This aura! It's perfect for you!"
Lu Li didn't bother to look. "I've already said I'm not planning on finding a partner. At least not anytime soon."
"Just one look! Just one look!"
Pan Shuai held his phone up to him.
Lu Li pursed his lips and glanced at it casually.
Ok?
hiss--
This girl is quite pretty.
Seeing his reaction, Pan Shuai laughed. "Okay, without further ado, tomorrow is Sunday, so shave your beard and get it done, then put on your handsome suit. I'll pick a coffee shop for you tomorrow, just go and wait there."
Then he got up and left gracefully, saying, "Just settle the bill today."
Watching his retreating figure, Lu Li curled his lip.
But in the end, he said nothing.
Fine, let's just meet once.
Anyway, he's already uninstalled that free app.