Sometimes, I suddenly feel that fate is like a person, someone who has a grudge against me, always secretly tormenting me for fun. My powerless bitter smile, as if it's the expression I use most often in daily life. It's unimaginable that my reunion with Dong Shanshan would come so suddenly after all these years.

  In the still of night, lying in bed and staring at the empty ceiling, I really feel lonely. Thinking that after entering university, my life has become a mess, as if I've been led by the nose all along. Walking to this day, many times facing the feeling of death, it's really frustrating, with an empty heart. Those naive thoughts and ideals I had before are so vulnerable in reality.

  I am unable to retain anything by my side, I have come to understand what it means to be at the mercy of fate and to be flawed in five ways and lacking in three. It's as if I'm facing the entire world alone, sometimes I feel very afraid. Afraid that I'll continue walking alone forever, and end up dying a lonely death, ultimately turning into a handful of yellow earth.

  These years of experience have made me inconsistent inside and out. I hope everyone around me can be happy, so I always put a smile on my face, even though deep down in my heart is a stagnant pool of water.

  When I saw Dong Shanshan, I suddenly had a feeling of wanting to escape. She had lost weight and looked more mature, wearing a fitting professional attire. When she entered the room, her face still wore that familiar smile I knew, but it vanished instantly when she saw me. For some reason, I felt a little inferior. These years have passed, and it seems like everyone has changed.

  The only thing that hasn't changed is me, still the same old self, sloppy and unkempt, wearing the same faded jeans from college days. Due to constant lack of sleep, my complexion is pale, both body and mind are battered. I don't know what to say to her or even how to start a conversation in this state.

  Because I didn't tell Zhang Yaxin the names of people in those stories when I told her my story a few years ago, she didn't know that her friends were actually the people in my stories.

  She looked at me and Dong Shanshan with a slightly awkward expression, and asked strangely: "What's wrong, Cui Ge, do you two know each other?"

  I didn't know what to say, just as I was about to speak, Dong Shanshan said expressionlessly: "Don't recognize."

  I suddenly felt a pang in my heart, after all these years, hasn't she forgiven me yet?

  It's probably for the best, after all, everyone pretends not to recognize each other, and it won't be so awkward. After finishing dinner, hurry back to their respective homes and find their own mothers, just treat this as a chance encounter. After all, everyone now has their own life, let those memories stay in the past, I thought to myself.

  The careless and reckless old Yi didn't seem to notice anything unusual about us, but now this guy's spring heart is sprouting, his eyes can only see Zhang Yaxin, I'm speechless.

  He hastily welcomed her and said to Zhang Yaxin as if he had seen a close relative, "Oh my, it's so cold outside, sit down quickly."

  Zhang Yaxin awkwardly smiled at him and then looked at me, I thought to myself, God, hurry up and strike me dead! How can we still eat this meal?

  The four of us had just sat down face to face, and Aunt Yuan came up to ask what we wanted to eat. I handed the menu to Zhang Yaxin to order, but actually there was nothing good to eat because this was purely a dinner party for Old Yi's own pleasure. Zhang Yaxin was okay, but I and Dong Shanshan sat opposite each other, neither of us daring to look directly at the other.

  Zhang Yaxin ordered two dishes and then asked Dong Shanshan what she wanted to eat. Dong Shanshan shook her head, so Zhang Yaxin handed the menu to me and told me to order a few more. I took the menu and ordered pepper salt beef and vegetarian dumplings. Then I said to Yuan Ayi, that's all, and also asked for four bottles of beer, troubling Uncle and Auntie.

  Dong Shanshan raised her head and looked at me, the two dishes I ordered earlier were her favorite, because she only eats beef among meat, likes to eat balls, it's obvious that she was a little surprised that I didn't forget.

  How could I possibly forget?

  Before long, the dishes were served. As soon as the beer was opened, Lao Yi, this lecherous man, rushed to pour wine for Zhang Yaxin, a typical sycophant.

  It can't be like this, eating without talking, so we started chatting with Zhang Yaxin. From her mouth, I learned that she had already felt that continuing to attend school was meaningless when she was in her second year of college. Originally, she came to this school just to accompany her boyfriend, but during the Mirror Lake incident, her boyfriend dumped her, and she took a leave of absence. These things didn't surprise me much, what surprised me was that she was actually the adopted daughter of the chairman of the Yuan Group!

  I almost understood when I heard this, it turns out that emotions are a big sister, no wonder she already has a car, it's born with her, you say this person's fate is really destined by heaven, like me, a flawed and imperfect person, can only struggle to survive every day, even if I suffer great grievances and hardships, I can only grit my teeth and endure, living is too difficult and tiring.

  But there are some people who are born with conditions that others don't have, and even if they do nothing for their entire lives and spend all day lying in bed, someone will still deliver cakes and women to their doorstep on time. I suppose this is what they call the second generation of rich people. It's really too evil, we ordinary people are struggling to survive with great difficulty, while they have nothing to do but indulge in leisure activities all day long, and think that the sky has fallen just because they've lost a romance.

  Although Zhang Yaxin doesn't seem like the kind of person who would show off just because she has some money, she told me: "I'm an orphan, my adoptive father supported me to study, he's very good to me, although he didn't often come see me. Later when he saw I didn't want to study anymore, he let me go work at his company to help him."

  I thought which old boss of the Yuan Group is your godfather, I wonder if it's the biggest one. So I asked her, she told me: "My godfather's name is Yuan Mei."

  Crash! It seemed like something had shattered into pieces. I turned my head to look, and saw Auntie squatting on the ground picking up the fragments of a glass cup. It seemed that she had accidentally knocked it over while wiping it just now. So I asked Auntie: "Auntie, are you okay? Do you need me to help you?"

  Aunt Yuan turned around and smiled at me, saying: "No need, no need, you eat yours."

  So I continued to chat with Zhang Yaxin, and suddenly I thought of Yuan Dashi and his brother-in-law, the local tyrant. I wondered if it was a coincidence, so I quietly asked Zhang Yaxin if she knew the uncle and aunt who owned this store?

  Zhang Yaxin shook her head and said to me: "I don't know, it's my first time here, but the dishes here are really delicious."

  It seems that it was just a coincidence after all. Originally, if there were brothers like Yuan Mei, no matter who they were, they wouldn't open a noodle shop; at the very least, they would open a noodle factory.

  Lao Yi, who was standing beside me, saw that I was chatting with Zhang Yaxin and couldn't help but feel a bit displeased. He then turned to Zhang Yaxin and said, "Beautiful lady, what's your friend's name? We still don't know, you're not introducing us?"

  Zhang Yaxin patted her own little brain, laughing and saying: "Hey look at my brain, I was so busy talking to Cui Ge that I forgot to introduce you guys. This is my colleague, a big sister who came to the company a week ago, named Dong Shanshan, we get along particularly well."

  Yi Xinxing busily raised his cup to toast Dong Shanshan, who had been silent the whole time. Dong Shanshan smiled at Yi Xinxing and greeted him, which made me feel a bit uncomfortable again. So I also mustered up the courage to raise my cup and say to Dong Shanshan: "Hello, my name is Cui Zuofei."

  Dong Shanshan glanced at me, but ignored me and turned to chat with Zhang Yaxin. Neither of them noticed the subtle smile, so I could only awkwardly finish my drink in one gulp by myself.

  I thought it wouldn't be like this, we've been apart for so long, is it necessary, do you have to hate me that much? Alas, women are really a mysterious creature, sometimes even more difficult to understand than ghosts.

  So I started drinking with Lao Yi, what made me angry was that Lao Yi didn't even toast me, he stared at Zhang Yaxin, his eyeballs almost popped out.

  No choice, I had to drink by myself. At this time, I heard Zhang Yaxin and Dong Shanshan chatting next to me. Zhang Yaxin smiled at Dong Shanshan and said: "Sister Shanshan, I heard that your family has already bought a house? How is it going? When are you getting married?"

  It turned out that she already had a boyfriend and was about to get married soon.

  My mind suddenly went blank, although we had already ended things a long time ago. Although I knew it was fate, for some reason my heart still felt like it was stuffed with cotton balls and was in so much pain. Oh heavens! Can't you stop teasing me like this?!

  After a moment of silence, I suddenly wanted to drink, and I completely forgot about preparing for the exam. So I asked Zhang Yaxin if we could still have a few drinks, and Zhang Yaxin, who was unusually happy today, nodded in agreement.

  I turned around and said to Aunt Yuan: Auntie, would you mind getting eight more bottles of beer?

  Come on! Damn it!

  After a round of drinks, everyone had more or less the same amount to drink. Zhang Yaxin hadn't drunk much but was already unable to hold her liquor, her small face red like an apple. Dong Shanshan didn't know what she was thinking in her head, and surprisingly also drank quite a bit. Was she like me too, having some regrets about fate's teasing?

  After settling the bill, I bid farewell to Uncle Yuan and left with them. After drinking, my head was heavy and my feet were light, and I felt dizzy. I thought that this meal was really enjoyable for some people, but not for others. The happy one was naturally Lao Yi, while the unhappy one... well, you should know who the unlucky guy is without me saying it.

  Zhang Yaxin seemed to be having a great time too, she said she didn't want to go home so soon and wanted to play some more. Yi Xinxing was delighted when he heard this, as he had hit it off with Zhang Yaxin over dinner, so he thought he'd take advantage of the situation and said: "How about we go sing karaoke? I'm serious, my rendition of 'On the Moon' is just like Jacky Cheung's."

  I'm speechless, is that a Jacky Cheung song? But Zhang Yaxin seems to think his joke is quite interesting, and it's making her giggle.

  She said to us: "Every time we finish eating, we sing songs, it's so boring. I want to play dance games, let's go to the amusement park."

  Yi Xinxing immediately nodded in agreement with both hands, and said to Zhang Yaxin with a sly tone: "Hehehe, great, Yaxin sister, you know that when I was 12 years old, I was the number one dance devil in Harbin."

  And I, as soon as I hear the three words "arcade", my heart skips a beat again. Zhang Yaxin, oh Zhang Yaxin, I really don't know if you're doing it on purpose or not, why did you have to suggest going to an arcade of all places?! Don't you know that's where Dong Shanshan and I had our falling out?! If I go, won't I just be asking for trouble?!

  Besides, Dong Shanshan will definitely not agree to it either.

  But I was wrong again, Dong Shanshan actually agreed. Then she looked at me with a slightly drunken gaze, the first time she spoke to me since we met today: "Are you coming?"

  I don't know what I was thinking either, but when she spoke to me, my heart suddenly started racing and I nodded my head involuntarily.

  I don't know why either.

  Arrived at an amusement park, I was suddenly surrounded by the lively atmosphere. Dong Shanshan and I didn't say a word, we just quietly watched Lao Yi and Zhang Yaxin's passionate dance.

  To say that Lao Yi was originally discharged from the hospital for a short time, his legs were not agile, and he walked with a limp like Fan chef. He was basically leaning to one side, letting Zhang Yaxin finish him off.

  Lao Yi was panting heavily, as if he had run two miles, while Zhang Yaxin seemed to be not satisfied yet and wanted to play something else. So she asked Dong Shanshan, "Do you know how to play KOF?"

  Dong Shanshan nodded, and the two of them sat down in front of a KOF2002 machine. However, Zhang Yaxin was completely no match for Dong Shanshan and was defeated within three minutes. Zhang Yaxin exclaimed in surprise: "Wow, Sister Shanshan, you're really good at this! I'm not going to make it, who's next?"

  She looked at us two, and Dong Shanshan also turned her head around, looking at me with a very complicated gaze. I couldn't see clearly what that gaze was, it seemed to have disappointment, expectation, and some confusion inside.

  How I wish I could play a game with her, but what's the use? She already has a boyfriend and is almost married.

  Even if we make up, what's the point? You know, now that we're all grown up, it's not like the carefree love we had when we were students. I'm just a poor guy and often face life-threatening situations. Most importantly, I can't even guarantee whether I'll be alive two years from now.

  She should have had that kind of quiet life that belonged to her.

  Actually, I had long since figured it out, the happiness she wanted was something I couldn't give her.

  So I scratched my hair, pretending to be disdainful and said: "I won't play this kind of childish game." After finishing speaking, I turned around, lit a cigarette, and didn't dare to make eye contact with her again. Then came the sound of Yixinxing being humiliated and slapped in the face.

  I thought to myself, what kind of cigarette is this, why is it so spicy.

  It choked me to tears.

  Two hours later, everyone had played enough and was tired, so they prepared to go home. I and Lao Yi hailed a taxi, said goodbye to the two of them again, and watched as they got in the car.

  When Zhang Yaxin opened the car door, she suddenly heard a "ah" and then asked Dong Shanshan: "Sister Shanshan, what's on the back of your clothes? Why didn't I see it just now?"

  Dong Shanshan looked at Zhang Yaxin with a strange expression and said in an equally strange tone: "It seems like you have it on your back too."

  "Ah, what's this? Is it red paint? I'm done for, my clothes are going to be a pain to wash."

  I and Lao Yi were just wondering why they hadn't boarded the bus yet, so we went forward to take a look. As soon as we took a look, my head and Lao Yi's head suddenly felt a "buzz"!!! Cold sweat broke out all over again.

  Only behind Dong Shanshan and Zhang Yaxin, at some unknown time, two blurry red characters appeared.

  Six, seven.