“I said, Shen,” Shen Zui took a sip of his drink, wearing an expression of annoyance as if he were staring daggers at Lu Shen. “You, a person nearly thirty years old, is it that difficult to find a partner? Let me tell you, these young people nowadays are easy to please. Someone like you, who doesn’t look bad, can easily…”
“What about you?” Lu Shen raised an eyebrow, gripping his glass, “You’re married and yet you keep sneaking out to hang out with me. Aren’t you afraid your wife will find out and break your legs when you go back?”
“Damn it. Am I afraid of her?” Shen Zui slammed the table, clearly unhappy. “At home, she listens to me!”
“Then are you paying for tonight?” Lu Shen looked at him.
Shen Zui hesitated for a moment, looking annoyed. “…have no money.”
“Have no money?” Lu Shen couldn’t help but smile.
Shen Zui spoke and downed the drink in his glass in one gulp. He wiped his mouth and said resentfully, “Damn it, you could say I married a shrew. The allowance she gives me every month isn’t even enough for two packs of cigarettes! I must have been blind to get involved with her in the first place!”
After venting his frustration, Shen Zui grabbed the bottle and poured himself another half glass of liquor while muttering, “Back when I was single, life was so much better… Now, after getting married, all the girls around me have disappeared. I can’t even call them back! I’m telling you, Lu Shen, the most important thing in my life is to enjoy it. Being single isn’t so bad! I was blind back then…”
Before Lu Shen could respond, Shen Zui’s phone rang, and the distinctive ringtone caught the attention of people in the bar. Shen Zui was taken aback but quickly answered the call, sounding guilty, “Hey, honey? I’m out with a friend, just having dinner…”
Lu Shen chuckled and took a sip of his drink, raising an eyebrow as he watched Shen Zui, who seemed almost frantic. “It’s not like I’m going out with a woman! Wife, listen to my explanation! I…”
“Let me.” Lu Shen reached for Shen Zui’s phone and put it to his ear. “Hello, sister-in-law? Yes, it’s me.”
“Ah Shen?” The voice on the other end of the line hesitated for a moment, instantly switching from an angry tone to a more polite one. “Oh, I see. So you’re out with him? That’s a relief…”
“What’s that?” Shen Zui, who had been eavesdropping, couldn’t help but complain when he heard his wife’s embarrassed tone. “You don’t trust me even when I’m out with friends!”
“Nonsense!” The person on the other end of the call immediately started scolding again. “Shen Zui, you better come home right away! If you’re not back by ten tonight, don’t bother coming in. Tomorrow morning, we’re going to the civil affairs bureau!”
“Please calm down,” Lu Shen said with a smile. “When Shen Zui was with me just now, he couldn’t stop praising you, saying you’re thrifty, gentle, and excellent at managing money.”
“Is that so?” The person on the other end of the call was cheered up by Lu Shen’s words. “Of course! As far as I’m concerned, he’s just a useless waste of space. He’s wasting air while alive and soil when he dies…”
“Oh, come on,” Shen Zui took back the phone, lowering his voice. “Can you at least give me some face in front of others?”
“It’s all because of you! All you think about is going out with Ah Shen and negatively influencing people, isn’t it?” The person on the other end of the call continued to scold without reservation.
“Yes, yes, yes!” Shen Zui felt extremely aggrieved, but under the overbearing influence of his wife, he could only nod repeatedly.
“Alright,” Mrs. Shen sighed and finally softened her tone. “After you’re done, come back quickly. I’ve cooked some dishes you like, and I’ll heat them up for you when you’re back.”
“Come!” Shen Zui continued to nod, and Lu Shen couldn’t help but shake his head when he saw him smiling like a fool. In the end, who was the one with impaired judgment? It certainly wasn’t him. It was Shen Zui, this idiot who kept taking advantage of himself and refused to admit it. It was really hard for Mrs. Shen, who was originally a gentle woman, to be infuriated by him every day.
“Hurry back, don’t make people wait.” Lu Shen got up and paid the bill, then patted Shen Zui’s shoulder. “You too. After getting married, just accept the temper and have a child with the sister-in-law as soon as possible. People like you can only be honest when you are a father.”
“Right!” Shen Zui said with excitement. Then, he hugged Lu Shen’s shoulder and said earnestly, “Shen, I advise you to find someone soon too. Look at you, always alone, not good at all. When you go home, you can’t even enjoy a warm meal…”
“Then I’ll come over to your place for dinner tomorrow,” Lu Shen nodded.
Shen Zui looked at him and finally managed to say, “Alright! I’ll ask my wife to cook some more dishes tomorrow. Remember to come!”
Lu Shen smiled and patted his shoulder. “You should head back now. Don’t forget to buy some grapes on the way home. I saw the fruit store your wife often goes to on my way here, and they have a discount.”
“Damn,” Shen Zui widened his eyes and looked at him. “Lu Shen, you’re something else! Are you…”
“I’m not,” Lu Shen pinched his waist. “Last time I was at your place, I overheard you two arguing, and she mentioned she likes grapes… So, get going and be more considerate.”
“Alright, I’m leaving!” Shen Zui picked up his coat hanging on the back of the chair and waved to Lu Shen. “Come early tomorrow!”
Lu Shen waved back and sighed in relief as he sat back down in his chair.
It had been so many years since they last spoke. Loneliness was undoubtedly a part of his life.
His mother had already given up hope on him finding a girlfriend, even considering having a second child to carry on the family line. However, Lu Shen had promptly put an end to that plan. His mother was getting too old, and he couldn’t allow her to risk giving birth to a second child while already being old.
While everyone around him seemed to be getting married and starting families, some of his friends who used to boast about being single for life even had a change of heart. They were now happily married and some even had two children. Lu Shen wondered what kind of women could make these once wild guys settle down. But he later found out that they were similar to Mrs. Shen.
Well, that wasn’t a bad thing at all. Lu Shen took another sip of his drink.
When it came to loneliness, he couldn’t deny the comparisons, but he didn’t care what others thought. After all, the person he was looking for was right under his nose. Even in such a situation, he couldn’t fall in love with anyone else.
Lu Shen stretched lazily and stood up, reaching into his pocket to touch the small box he had brought with him today. A faint smile appeared on his face.
Speaking of which, today was an important day.
****
As the concert-goers danced and cheered to the beat, Shenjian wiped the sweat off his forehead and looked down at the crowd below. During the halftime break, Li Fei approached him and whispered, “Hey, Third Brother, it looks like that person is here again today.”
Shenjian grinned, feeling a sense of relief after the exhilarating performance. “Oh, really? The same person from last time?”
“Hmm?” Bian Shengjian furrowed his brow slightly and followed Li Fei’s gaze down below the stage, spotting the familiar figure in the crowd.
“Who the hell is that person anyway? It seems like we see him every time,” Li Fei commented, making a clicking sound with his tongue. “Third Brother, could that person have taken a liking to you?”
“Get lost,” Bian Shengjian shot him a sideways glance and then quickly handed his guitar to Li Fei. “Hold onto this for a moment.”
“Oh, taking the initiative, huh?” Li Fei whistled cheerfully from behind him. “Sure thing, Third brother!”
Bian Shengjian turned and walked straight towards the crowd. There were a few die-hard fangirls gathered near the stage, and as soon as they saw the lead singer coming down, they screamed and rushed towards him. “Ahhhh!”
Bian Shengjian took a step back and raised a finger to his lips, signaling for them to be quiet. “Shh.”
“Ahhhh!” The girls quieted down for a moment but then started screaming even louder, as if they were trying to break through the ceiling with their voices.
Bian Shengjian sighed.
He then took a decisive step into the crowd, grabbed the person he was looking for by the arm, and quickly pulled them towards the backstage area. Once they were against the wall, he pushed them against it and took a few steps back, holding his arm and speaking in a somewhat cold tone. “Were you following me the other day?”
Lu Shen looked at him but remained silent for a moment.
Bian Shengjian frowned and continued to stare at him. It was as if he felt that the man in front of him could see through him, straight into the depths of his soul, to another person deep, deep inside… This feeling made him very uncomfortable.
“I’m asking you a question!” Bian Shengjian’s voice rose.
“Oh,” Lu Shen finally withdrew his gaze and looked somewhat apologetic. “I’m sorry, I just…got carried away.”
Bian Shengjian’s temple vein pulsed a few times, and his tone became more irritable. “Speak! What were you doing following me the other day?”
“I wasn’t following you,” Lu Shen said with a smile. “But I really think you sing very well.”
Bian Shengjian stared at him coldly. Lu Shen’s tone, which sounded like he was coaxing a child, was like pouring oil on a fire. Just as he was about to step forward and teach this stranger some manners, there was a sudden movement from behind, and someone moved faster than him. The person took something out of their pocket and playfully flicked open the lid of a small box, revealing its contents with a playful flourish. “Happy eighteenth birthday.”
Bian Shengjian blinked in surprise.
After a few seconds, when he lowered his head and looked in the dim light, he finally saw what was inside that small box:
It was a pair of jet-black earrings.
