South of Chutian

In Wuhan in early November, the temperature is still unpredictable.Obviously the day before was still under the scorching sun, Tang Heng slept with the window open all night, but was woken up by the cold in the morning.

There was no class on Friday, and Tang Heng curled up in the air-conditioning quilt, feeling his body was soft from sleeping, and he didn't want to move.

At seven o'clock, Li Yuechi sent a text message saying that he had gone out, but he didn't say what he was going to do.The next one is the temperature drop warning text message from Hongshan District Meteorological Bureau. The maximum temperature is [-] degrees and the minimum temperature is [-] degrees.

Finally, it looks like a serious autumn.

Tang Heng replied to Li Yuechi's text message: Can you answer the phone?

A few seconds later, his call came in. Tang Heng grabbed the phone with one hand, reached into the bed with the other, and opened the waist of his pajama pants.

"Didn't you have no class this morning?" Tang Heng felt his throat was dry.

"Go to work." Li Yuechi's side was very noisy, as if he was on the street.

"What kind of work do you do?"

"Advertisement for tutoring classes."

"Give you the 'Qingmu Kaoyan'?" Tang Heng curled up his legs.

"No, another one."

"Are you tired?" His movements became faster and faster, and his breathing became a little short.

"Not tired—" Li Yuechi paused for two seconds, then asked in a low voice, "What are you doing?"

Tang Heng was so frightened that he shivered, and hummed: "Lying down."

"Just lying down?"

"Um……"

Li Yuechi probably knew it, and said with a smile, "There are still three days, so bear with it."

Tang Heng withdrew his hand from the quilt and let out a long breath: "You really can bear it."

"How do you know I can bear it?"

"Aren't you... not in a hurry."

"I'm in a hurry."

"can not tell."

"Tang Heng," Li Yuechi sighed softly, with a slightly helpless tone, "I'm on the street."

"Oh," Tang Heng felt relieved, and returned his words, "Be patient."

After hanging up the phone, Tang Heng got up and grabbed a few tissues to wipe his hands, then took off his underwear, and walked into the bathroom with bare legs.There are three days left until Li Yuechi's birthday, November [-]th, three days, and he hasn't decided what gift to give yet.

Although according to Li Yuechi's meaning, he himself is a gift... Why does this sound so feudal and decadent?He feels that this is a matter between two people, everyone is taking, and everyone is giving, they are equal.

So what can he give Li Yuechi?

Tang Heng took a shower, put on new pajamas, and dialed Jiang Ya's number.

"Brother," Jiang Ya said vaguely, "Do you know what time it is?"

"Ask your business."

"Let the fart go."

"If it's my birthday, what present will you give?"

"You fucking can't remember it yourself!" Jiang Ya scolded, "This year it was Yohji Yamamoto who was bought from Japan, last year it was a guitar, and the year before... It was wine? I can't remember."

"Think about what to give next year."

"That's still early!"

"Think about it, give me something practical."

"Why," Jiang Ya became vigilant, "You want me to give... a house? Isn't it appropriate?"

"roll."

"Are you annoying?" Jiang Ya smiled, "If you have something to say, just say it."

"Li Yuechi's birthday is coming soon."

"I knew it."

"I can't give you ones that are too expensive, and I don't know what to give them that are cheap."

"Let's think about it... cheap... Hey, you can buy him a wallet or something. Chicony's Burberry has just arrived in a new style."

"cheap."

Jiang Ya said innocently: "Isn't this cheap?"

"Forget it," Tang Heng said, "Go on and sleep."

"You have many problems..." Jiang Ya hung up the phone.

Tang Heng curled up on the sofa and thought hard.Cheap, how much is cheap to Li Yuechi?He took a usury loan of 7 yuan for Mr. Zhao without batting an eye—fortunately, Mr. Zhao's family repaid the money later.But he only spent five yuan for a fried noodle.He goes to work every day.He was so straightforward when he turned down the teaching assistant job of 600 yuan per month.

Tang Heng suddenly discovered that he didn't really care about a lot of things he could give him.Money, expensive clothes and shoes, even the signature of the project...he doesn't care.He has never explicitly expressed his preference for material things, such as a certain object, or a certain brand, or even a certain color.He lives too casually, as long as he has food, it doesn't matter what he eats, as long as he has clothes to wear, it doesn't matter the color of the brand, as long as he has books, it doesn't matter if he belongs to it or not...

In fact, this person is harder to serve than anyone else, right?

When the phone rang, Tang Heng thought that Jiang Ya had something again?

Without looking at it, he lazily picked up the phone: "Hello?"

"Hello," came a female voice, slightly rough, "Excuse me, are you Mr. Tang Heng from Huster Band?"

"It's me," Tang Heng sat up, "You are?"

"Let me introduce myself first," she smiled, "I'm Lin Lang, manager of Beijing Linglai Entertainment Company, you can call me Lindsey."

"Lin...Miss Lin," Tang Heng couldn't hear her English pronunciation through the phone, "Are you Abu's friend?"

"Yes! He mentioned me to you, didn't he?" Lin Lang laughed, "This guy finally got it right once!"

"are you looking for me?"

"Of course - how about it, are you free this morning? Let's talk face to face? It's best in the morning, because I'll be flying back to Beijing in the evening."

Twenty minutes later, Tang Heng met Lin Lang at Starbucks in Creative City.She looked to be in her early 10s, wearing a thin black leather jacket, with short hair and very neatly dressed.However, she has a baby face, and her features are very soft.

"Hello, handsome guy," Lin Lang said, and Tang Heng could hear her smoky voice, "Are there no classes today?"

Tang Heng sat down opposite her: "No class on Friday."

"What would you like to drink? Please."

"Let's have a latte."

"OK."

After a while, Lin Lang handed Tang Heng a business card.It says:

Beijing Linglai Entertainment Co., Ltd.? Artist agent

"Let's get straight to the point. I've heard you sing in 'Long Love' and watched your band's competition video. I think you sing well, really."

"Thank you," Tang Heng took a sip of his latte, "In your company, the manager still works as a scout?"

Lin Lang laughed loudly: "It's called hard work for those who are capable. I heard from Lao Bu that you are about to graduate from college?"

Tang Heng nodded: "Next year in June."

"Do you want to continue studying?"

"Go abroad to study."

"It's not going to England!"

"Why England?"

"I just... feel like you have the temperament in British dramas," Lin Lang stretched out his hand and gestured, "You are tall and thin, and you wear a windbreaker that reaches to your knees, and you hold a plaid umbrella... you are very British."

Tang Heng was amused by her description, and said, "I'm going to America."

"America? America is better," Lin Lang also laughed, "Long live freedom."

Tang Heng thought she would say a few more words of greeting, or inquire about her own situation, but unexpectedly she changed the subject and said seriously: "But it doesn't matter if you are two years late for going abroad, right?"

Just as Tang Heng was about to speak, she said again: "I know your family's conditions are very good, I can see that, and you are a graduate of Han University, a top student. I know...you may not expect to make money from singing, you kind of A smart kid can do anything well."

Tang Heng said, "Not at all."

"I'm telling the truth," Lin Lang stirred his coffee, "It's because of this that I think you should give it a try. Really, you are not burdened now, you don't worry about money, you don't worry about your future, even if you don't You can do well singing—so why don't you give it a go and make money doing what you love?"

Tang Heng was silent for a moment, then said, "I haven't thought about it."

"Hey," Lin Lang sighed, "Do you know how many people I've met who said that their only dream in this life is to be a singer? It's really drought and flood death."

"Then why don't you go to them?"

"Because they are not as good as you," Lin Lang looked into Tang Heng's eyes, "Singers are good, but their looks are bad; ——I was taken care of by my godfather, my family didn't support me, I had some mental problems...Xiao Tang, you are rare."

"I have a bad temper."

"In art, you have to have some personality. You said you never thought about being a singer, so let me put it this way, have you ever thought about why you formed a band and sang rock? There must be a reason for this? Don't rush to answer me , you can think about it. Because it’s fun? Because it attracts attention? Or, what do you want to convey through music? When you come up with an answer, call me and tell me, okay?”

Perhaps because of the sudden drop in temperature, the windows of the cafe were closed, and Tang Heng suddenly felt a little stuffy.

"Okay, I'll call you when the time comes," he just wanted to end this chat as soon as possible, "That's it."

"We must fight."

"Ah."

"OK," Lin Lang got up, "let's go."

They parted at the subway station at Jiejiekou, Lin Lang took the subway back to the hotel, and Tang Heng went home.When we parted, Lin Lang looked at Luoyu Road, which was full of traffic, and said casually: "Wuhan is a really suitable place for shooting MVs. I was strolling around Han University just now and found that there are many bungalows next to the school... I was thinking at the time, if you and Linglai has signed a contract, and we must shoot an MV there, how about it?"

Tang Heng froze for a moment: "What do you mean?"

"Huh? I just think that old house is very impressive."

"Oh..." Tang Heng said in a low voice, "Indeed."

Lin Lang left, and the latte she bought for Tang Heng was completely cold. Tang Heng threw the paper cup into the trash can, turned and walked into the south gate of Han University.Her unintentional words reminded him - the old house, the old house that Li Yuechi rented.

Turning into the alley from the school, passing "Changai", after a while, Tang Heng saw the dilapidated two-story building again.He climbed up the rusty stairs and found that the lock on the door was the same one that Li Yuechi had changed before.The wooden door on the first floor was also locked, and when I touched it, there was a layer of dust.

Tang Heng ran to the Xiangyang Beef Noodle Shop at the entrance of the alley, and asked the boss, "Do you know how to rent a house here?" Their band often came to eat, and they all knew each other well, and the boss asked curiously, "You rent a house here. What are you doing?"

"Stay here," Tang Heng said.

"Ouch—" the boss waved his hand, "Those houses are dilapidated and dirty, what's there to live in! I think you want to open a store to grab the business of 'Long Love'?"

"I'm really renting, I have a friend...he needs it."

"It's very cheap, at most 300 yuan per room, if it's too much, it will cheat you!"

"How to contact?"

"Which one do you want to rent?" The boss took out his mobile phone and said boldly, "I'll help you get in touch!"

Ten minutes later, Tang Heng saw the landlord in the beef noodle shop.She is an aunt in her 50s who lives in another bungalow not far away.She can't speak Mandarin, and her Wuhan dialect accent is extremely strong. Fortunately, the boss helped translate.

It didn't take much effort to negotiate, 200 yuan a month, three deposits and one payment.Tang Heng paid the rent for one year in one go - he even wanted to buy the bungalow directly, but was flatly rejected by the landlord.

It was agreed to sign the contract and pay the money in the afternoon, and the landlord left. The boss smiled and said, "The house is still waiting for demolition, how could it be sold to you!"

"Demolition? Any news?"

"News from eight lifetimes," the boss said leisurely while sitting at the recycling counter, "It's a big project to demolish such a big old house. I think it's too much."

After tossing around like this for the whole morning, Tang Heng ate a bowl of beef noodles. In the afternoon, he hurriedly signed the contract and took the key.The landlord's son was also at home at the time, and reminded: "The door lock was changed before, you should get a new one to be safe."

Tang Heng looked at the familiar key, smiled and said, "No need."

The landlord's son was puzzled: "We don't care if we lose something."

"I can't lose it." After Tang Heng finished speaking, he turned and left.

He still has less than three days, and decoration is impossible, so he had to contact the cleaning company to clean it thoroughly.The old mold marks on the walls were smoothed with sandpaper, the dirt on the ground was cleaned, and even the narrow window was wiped as clean as new, making the whole room brighter.

I also asked a plumber to replace the water pipes and faucets, and bought an electric water heater to install in the bathroom. In the evening, there was also a shower—although this made the bathroom even more cramped.

After the workers all left, Tang Heng stood in the empty room, looking and thinking.I also need to replace the ceiling light with a new one, which should be bright, and a new firm bed with a wall lamp next to the bed. If I look at it, it will be a very warm dark yellow color—because winter is coming.

what else?Water dispenser?Forget it, just buy a big bucket of mineral water.Do you cook?Maybe I still need an induction cooker, but stop squatting and cooking noodles, buy a small table, put the induction cooker on the table, and have a place to eat.Tang Heng took a few steps forward, measuring the sizes of the various furniture and appliances in his mind.He also wants to buy a hanging air conditioner, so that it can be warm in winter and cool in summer.Buy a desk, it doesn't need to be too big, just enough for Li Yuechi to sit and read.Lockers - there is really no room, if it is not possible, just nail a few shelves on the wall, so that some sundries can be placed.By the way, you can also put things under the bed.

The room was still too small, too small.Tang Heng was suddenly a little helpless. If Li Yuechi was willing to spend his money, they could rent a spacious house with a bedroom, living room, study room, a bathroom with a bathtub for two, and a rocking chair where they could sit together and enjoy the moon.But after thinking about it, this house is enough for the two of them to sleep, bathe, and eat simple food. You can also see the moon in front of the window, and you can lie together to read or chat. They seem to have become very small. In this In the vast and boundless world, they are a pair of insignificant lovers. They only need a little space to put down a lot of love.

He also needs to find someone to clean up the garbage downstairs, bring some soil over, and sprinkle grass seeds.Looking out of the window, you can see the green lawn, tall and low buildings, and the flamboyant pink signboard of "Long Love" at night.

Tang Heng rubbed his face, and felt that all this was too good, too good for him to imagine.He suddenly remembered Lin Lang's words, if he went abroad two years later, he would also be able to spend two years less exotic love with Li Yuechi.If he didn't go abroad at all—the idea just passed by, but since there was no one around, it didn't matter if he thought about it secretly.If he doesn't go abroad, can he live with Li Yuechi forever?

The phone vibrated suddenly, and Li Yuechi's voice was a little muffled: "Where are you?"

"I'm...uh, at home," almost slipping the tongue, Tang Heng pinched the space between his brows and asked, "Are you off work?"

"It's been more than an hour since I got off work. I thought you were busy."

"I'm a little busy..." Tang Heng grabbed the key of the rental house, "I'll come find you."

"It's okay, you do your work first."

"I'm done."

"Really?"

"real."

"Then why don't you call me?"

"Hey——" Tang Heng deliberately dragged his voice, pretending to be impatient, "Li Yuechi, are you wronged?"

"correct."

"Okay, I'll come to you," I wanted to tease him a few more times, but he admitted it so righteously, which made Tang Heng feel a little guilty. After a whole day of tossing around, I really didn't bother to call, "Where are you?"

"Limbo Gate."

"You wait for me - 15 minutes."

"Come here by bike."

"Huh?" But he didn't ride a bike when he went out!

"I want to see you soon." Li Yuechi said with a low smile.