Chapter 50.1 Sister
The atmosphere fell silent again.
Song Qingluo didn’t sit down but stood beside Lin Banxia. At this moment, he naturally saw that Lin Banxia’s so-called uncle obviously wanted to catch up with Lin Banxia and get closer to him. Unfortunately, when it comes to the past, there seems to be only embarrassment and silence between them.
“It’s getting late.” Lin Banxia said, “I’ll put my luggage away first, and I’ll come see you tomorrow.” When he stood up and walked to the door, he suddenly remembered something and said, “Where is my sister going to school now?”
As soon as he said these words, his uncle’s face changed drastically, and his lips moved a few times, as if he wanted to say something, but no sound came out for a long time.
Lin Banxia turned his head and looked at him, his eyes making it clear that he had to get a proper answer.
“She…she.” My uncle finally spoke. He stretched out his hand and wiped his face twice, his throat moving up and down, “She is in town, going to school.”
“Going to school?” Lin Banxia said, “Isn’t the school in the town gone? How can she go to school in the town?”
My uncle was silent.
Lin Banxia was about to ask more when his aunt on the bed suddenly moaned loudly. His uncle rushed out and called the nurse. The nurse quickly came over to check and made sure that his aunt was fine. She also told the family that although she looked like she was in a coma, she was actually conscious, so it was best not to talk about certain sensitive topics in front of the patient, so as not to agitate her.
His uncle agreed repeatedly and said to Lin Banxia: “You came back in a hurry today. Go and rest first. If anything happens, we will talk about it tomorrow.”
“Okay.” Lin Banxia nodded, turned around and left the ward.
Song Qingluo walked behind. Before leaving, he turned to look at Lin Banxia’s uncle and found that his expression was sometimes fearful and sometimes ferocious. No matter how you looked at it, it was weird. He withdrew his gaze and went downstairs with Lin Banxia.
Next to the hospital was an ordinary hotel, but the pink sign hanging outside the hotel felt suspicious. The two of them stood at the door of the hotel in silence for a while dragging their luggage. Lin Banxia hesitated and asked: “Is this a proper hotel?”
Song Qingluo: “A hotel is a hotel; I don’t know if it’s proper or not.”
The two looked at each other and saw a deep hesitation in each other’s eyes. However, the town was quite small and there were only a handful of hotels. Lin Banxia was also not familiar with the area. After discussing it with Song Qingluo, they decided to make do with it.
Walking into the room, there was a young girl sitting at the front desk. Lin Banxia handed over his and Song Qingluo’s ID cards.
“How many rooms are there?” the little girl asked.
Lin Banxia said: “Let’s have a standard room.”
The little girl clicked her mouse twice: “There are no standard rooms, only double-bed rooms.” She looked at the ID cards and seemed to realize that they were two men. She looked up again, and after seeing their faces, showed a subtle smile, “Do you want it?”
At this time, Lin Banxia didn’t realize what this smile meant, and didn’t think there was anything wrong. After all, they were all men, so it didn’t matter if they slept in the same bed. He said, “Okay.”
The little girl smiled and said: “Cash or Alipay?”
Lin Banxia took out his mobile phone and scanned the QR code.
After taking the room card, Lin Banxia and Song Qingluo were about to turn around and go upstairs, but the young girl patted the table and called out: “Would you like a stick of chewing gum?” As she said this, she took out a few green strips from somewhere. “There is none in the room. Don’t look around for it when you want to use it.”
Lin Banxia didn’t think much and asked how much it cost.
The little girl smiled and said: “Nothing, I’ll give it to you. Are three enough?”
Lin Banxia was puzzled, wondering if three pieces of chewing gum would be enough. He nodded, said thank you, and stuffed the thing into his pocket. He didn’t think much about it, but it was a little strange. They were just staying in a hotel. Why would they still need to use chewing gum? This doubt was quickly answered because the two went up to the second floor and opened the door with the key card. They were stunned by the furnishings in the room.
The two of them stood at the door in silence for a long time while dragging their luggage. Only then did Lin Banxia hear his own light voice. He said, “Are you staying?”
Song Qingluo: “…I gave you all the money.”
Lin Banxia scolded: “Thanks to this boss, he is such a business genius for thinking of opening a love hotel next to the hospital.”
The pink color in this room really made people’s scalp numb. At this time, he finally understood what was going on downstairs. What did that subtle smile that the girl at the front desk gave them mean?
Now that he decided to stay, Song Qingluo walked in without hesitation. Lin Banxia followed him and closed the door smoothly. The two of them put their luggage away. Seeing that it was still early, they were about to go out to find something to eat. When they passed by the front desk, they both couldn’t help but speed up. They probably didn’t want to see the subtle smile of the girl at the front desk.
The town was not big, but there was a lot to eat. There were various stalls everywhere, full of life. Song Qingluo asked Lin Banxia what special features they had here. Lin Banxia smiled and said the barbecue tasted good, so the two chose a barbecue restaurant with many families and sat down at a small wooden table.
“Once I find out where my sister goes to school tomorrow, I want to go to her school.” While waiting for food, Lin Banxia and Song Qingluo discussed.
“Okay.” Song Qingluo didn’t care.
“I haven’t been back for a long time, and everything I know seems to be gone.” Lin Banxia said, “At that time, I really liked eating rice noodles from a small shop. They were plain and cheap. You could buy a big bowl for two and a half dollars.”
When the barbecue was served, it exuded a charming aroma. He picked up a piece of roasted rice cake and took a bite. The rich taste of the rice filled his mouth. He showed a satisfied expression and recalled his past memories: “It’s a pity that at that time two and a half dollars was my daily meal allowance, and I only ate it once or twice in the three years of junior high school.”
Song Qingluo listened silently.
“If I eat it now, I probably won’t find it delicious.” Lin Banxia said vaguely, “That’s how life is.”
If I hadn’t eaten the piece of candy that I yearned for when I was three years old, I will never have it again in my life.
Song Qingluo said: “Do you still remember what your parents look like?”
“I don’t remember at all.” Lin Banxia said, “They left before I was even one year old. Maybe because of this, I don’t miss them, which is good.” He finished the rice cake in his hand and said, “Do you want some Coke?”
Song Qingluo: “Okay.”
Lin Banxia got up, went to the nearby canteen, and bought a two-liter bottle of Coke, brought it back, put it on the table with a thud, and joked: “I won’t go home until I’m drunk.”
Song Qingluo said: “I won’t return until I’m drunk.”
Hearing this, others cast strange glances at the two of them, probably thinking that although the two young men looked good, they didn’t look very smart, and they could be so passionate even if they drank a Coke.
However, it turns out that Coke is not as easy to digest as wine. After drinking a few glasses, Lin Banxia couldn’t stand it. He touched his belly and burped continuously. On the other hand, Song Qingluo’s fighting prowess was overwhelming. He drank all the remaining Coke silently without feeling any stomach discomfort from beginning to end.
Lin Banxia stared at Song Qingluo’s belly and hesitated: “Don’t you feel full?”
Song Qingluo said calmly: “It’s okay.”
Lin Banxia said: “You don’t even burp?”
Song Qingluo hesitated and said, “Do I have to burp?”
Lin Banxia: “…It’s not necessary.”
Song Qingluo: “Then let me try harder?”
Seeing how serious he was, Lin Banxia couldn’t help laughing and said: “I was just kidding.” It was almost time for them to leave, “I have nothing to do anyway, so let’s go for a walk? Let’s take a look at the old school along the way. …I don’t know what it has become now.”
“Okay.” Song Qingluo agreed.
The town was not big, and it only took a bit more than twenty minutes to walk from one end to the other. The school was located at the other end of the town. It was already dark, and there was a cool wind blowing. Lin Banxia took a few steps forward, dug into his pocket, took out a stick of chewing gum and handed it to Song Qingluo: “Want one?”
Song Qingluo took it and tore open the package, but suddenly stopped.
Lin Banxia didn’t realize what was going on at first, until he turned his head and looked at the thing in Song Qingluo’s hand…
The two looked at each other and fell into a long and awkward silence. Lin Banxia finally realized at this time why the little girl at the front desk gave him this thing and told him not to miss it when he needed it. What the fuck? Where is the chewing gum? It is clearly a condom!
Song Qingluo glanced at the thing in his hand, then at Lin Banxia, and silently threw the thing into the trash can nearby.
Lin Banxia was terribly embarrassed, most of his face was red, and his ears were feeling hot. He coughed a few times, trying to lighten the atmosphere: “Yes, it’s not necessary.”
Song Qingluo: “No need.”
He was silent for two seconds, and then added nonchalantly: “It’s too small.”
Lin Banxia: “???!!!”
The worst thing was that he still had a few in his pocket. They were like hot potatoes in his pocket at this time. He should just take them out and throw them away, but he was really embarrassed. However, if he didn’t throw them away, it would be even more embarrassing.
In an atmosphere that almost suffocated Lin Banxia, they finally reached the end of the town and the high school where Lin Banxia once studied.
Just as the little girl said, the school was abandoned and the iron gate at the entrance was rusted. Through the iron gate, Lin Banxia saw the overgrown playground inside and the teaching building next to it. The town was small, so the school was also not big. There were only four buildings, one of which was Lin Banxia’s dormitory, and the remaining three buildings were classrooms for each grade.
There was a flagpole and various fitness equipment erected on the playground. The lush weeds made it impossible to imagine how clean it once was.
Lin Banxia originally thought that his sister would go to the same school as him. He didn’t expect that the world had changed so much. However, in just a few years, this place had become deserted.
Reluctantly looking away, Lin Banxia said to Song Qingluo, “Let’s go.”
Song Qingluo had been very quiet, following Lin Banxia and said, “Can you tell me about your sister?”
“Yes.” Lin Banxia lowered his head, “My aunt is very patriarchal and has always wanted a boy. They gave my sister away for a long time and did not take her back until my brother was born. She has a good temper and won’t get angry no matter how much the family bullies her…”
Song Qingluo said: “Do you have a good relationship?”
“I have the best relationship with her.” Lin Banxia smiled lonely, “After all, from beginning to end, my aunt never regarded my sister as her biological daughter…”
Song Qingluo frowned slightly.
Lin Banxia also said something about his sister, saying that when he was a child, he liked to play and seek to hide with his sister at home. He was very happy every time, until he was discovery to be hiding in the cabinet by his uncle, who then beat him. After being beaten so hard, Lin Banxia lost his memory. That was the last time he and his sister played at home…
When talking about these memories, Lin Banxia’s lonely expression was filled with nostalgia.
Song Qingluo was listening quietly beside him.
The two walked back to the hotel slowly. The girl at the front desk was still sitting there. When she saw the two of them, she gave a polite fake smile.
When Lin Banxia saw her smile, he immediately remembered the embarrassing incident that had just happened, and his face suddenly turned red again, but he gritted his teeth and pretended that nothing had happened and went up to the second floor. Song Qingluo, on the other hand, looked calm from beginning to end, not caring at all that he had been misunderstood.
The room was all pink, which was really eye-catching. Lin Banxia told himself that he would just survive for a few nights anyway and to not be so demanding. He went to the toilet and took a shower, then climbed into bed obediently. Fortunately, the bed was quite big, and the two men wouldn’t feel crowded when lying on it. Lin Banxia stared at the ceiling and felt that the end of the bed moved. With a glance from the corner of his eye, he saw Song Qingluo coming up.
“I feel a little strange.” Lin Banxia covered half of his face with the quilt.
Song Qingluo looked calm: “What’s so strange?”
Lin Banxia: “Two grown men staying in this kind of hotel…”
Song Qingluo: “Save three hundred and two dollars in one night.”
Lin Banxia immediately surrendered to the RMB: “Okay, actually I think it’s okay.”
Song Qingluo curled up his lips.
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