South of Chutian

In the last month of 2011, Teacher Tang's project finally came to an end temporarily.A group of seven teachers and students came to Dawu County, Hubei Province to conduct a year-end inspection of the results of poverty alleviation.Dawu County belongs to Xiaogan City, a place famous for its rice wine.

It was snowing in Hubei, and the expressway back to Wuhan had been blocked for three days, so they had to charter two vans and take the provincial road back to Wuhan.The driver drove extremely carefully, but the students were big-hearted, and each of them fell asleep.

When he was in his hometown, Li Yuechi had never seen snow.When he heard the north mentioned by his geography teacher in high school, he always felt that it was a very warm place, because the teacher said that the north would snow in winter, but there was collective heating, so he could wear short sleeves indoors instead.He ignorantly associated "snow" with "north", so of course it doesn't snow in the south, where there is no heating.When he arrived in Wuhan, he was surprised to find that although the city on the Yangtze River has no heating, it often snows in winter.

Outside the window was a thin sheet of white, with fresh snow weighing on the dark green leaves.Li Yuechi rolled down the car window by a gap, and the cold wind rushed in immediately. The girl sleeping next to her wrinkled her nose, and Li Yuechi quickly rolled up the car window.

But she woke up anyway, and asked sleepily, "Where are you?"

"We're almost at Huangpi."

"Oh...then it's almost here," the girl asked again, "What time is it?"

"It's past four o'clock," the driver took over, "Look at the weather, it's only past four o'clock, and it's almost dark."

"Is it snowing in Wuhan too?"

"Next, it's a little smaller than Xiaogan."

"Hey..." The girl looked out the window, "Master, what time do we arrive at school?"

"No problem before eight o'clock! You won't be hungry!"

"It's not that I'm afraid of being hungry," the girl muttered, "It's New Year's Eve with my classmates at night..."

As soon as she finished speaking, as if responding to her, Li Yuechi's chest trembled.He kept his phone in his left breast pocket, and every time it vibrated, his heart seemed to beat with it.

It's a text message from Tang Heng: What time do you arrive?

Li Yuechi first typed the word "eight o'clock", thought for a while, then deleted it and changed it to "07:30".

The fireworks on Jiangtan start at eight o'clock.

Tang Heng: It's too late to eat, I'll buy you some, what do you want to eat?

Li Yuechi wanted to say casually, but suddenly remembered the last time Tang Heng asked him what to eat, and he said casually, so Tang Heng bought a big bag in a mess, and said confidently, "I'm afraid you don't like it, so I have some of each", and then smiled. watched him eat it.KFC’s chicken drumsticks, Pizza Hut’s pizza, the soup dumpling at the South Gate of Normal University, and the Guokui on Guangba Road…

Li Yuechi replied: Bread is fine.

Tang Heng: ok.

The time he replied the two text messages, the girl beside him was already chatting with the driver.The girl said, master, please drive faster, I have to rush back to watch the fireworks.The driver said, don't go, there are too many people.The girl said that there is an atmosphere when there are many people.The driver's tone was disdainful, the atmosphere?When the time comes, you won't even be able to take a taxi, so how can you go back to the dormitory!

Oops, I have made appointments with my classmates, please drive faster, master.

Okay, okay, you kids are the best at tossing-New Year's Eve?It's still dawn tomorrow, what's the difference?

Tomorrow is 2012!

What happened to 2012.

You haven't heard that fable, have you?

what?

Fable of the Mayans, 2012 is the end of the world!

Slow down, who is it?

The Mayans are... the ancients of America!They fabled that December 2012, 12 would be the end of the world.

Haha, the driver laughed, as soon as he heard that he was lying to the child.

It's true!Right, Li Yuechi?The girl turned to look at him.

……right.

Although I don't believe it, the girl shrugged her shoulders, but sometimes I think, what if, what if that day is really the end of the world... Could it be that everyone "shua" all at once?Or are there many natural and man-made disasters, and human beings are extinct bit by bit?

Li Yuechi didn't answer, and the second-year student who was sitting in the co-pilot said that it must be extinct bit by bit, and it wasn't a comet hitting the earth.

Hey, in this case, the process must be very painful.

Xu Rong, think about your opening report first!

Ah - are you bored?

Everyone woke up, and the carriage became lively.Another third-year student boy said that if 2012 is really the end of the world, I will definitely not write papers.

Xu Rong said, there's something wrong with you saying this in front of Teacher Tang.

Ouch, Mr. Tang just doesn't have time to take care of me right now.

After he finished speaking, all the students in the car laughed - except Li Yuechi.It was an ambiguous, tacit smile, and Li Yuechi rolled down the window again.

Ah, it's so cold, Xu Rong shrinks her neck, Junior Brother, aren't you cold?

Li Yuechi said, I am a little motion sick.

Nearly 07:30, two vans stopped at the South Gate of Han University.The students got out of the car one by one. When Tian Xiaoqin got out of the car, he was carrying Professor Tang's SLR camera in his hand.

"Xiao Qin, you can export the photos and save them in the USB flash drive I gave you." Professor Tang stretched his waist and ordered.

"Okay, teacher..."

"Don't worry about this, everyone has worked hard, take a good rest for a few days."

"Teacher, you should also have a good rest!" Xu Rong leaned over and said.

"Me? My physical fitness is much stronger than yours. I wasn't tired when I climbed the mountain. You guys are breathing first!"

The boy from Research Three smiled and said, "That's right, that's right, you're a dragon and a tiger."

After they exchanged enough pleasantries and said their farewells, the crowd scattered away.It was already 46:[-] at this time, Tang Heng sent two text messages, one said to wait for you downstairs in the dormitory, and the other said why you haven't arrived yet.

Li Yuechi replied "immediately", and said to Tian Xiaoqin, "Let's go?"

Tian Xiaoqin didn't respond, his expression was very dazed.

Li Yuechi looked at her face: "Are you okay?"

"I..." Tian Xiaoqin lowered his head, his voice was very low, "I think Teacher Tang is a bit strange."

"Why?" Li Yuechi knew that those brothers and sisters had always felt that Teacher Tang favored Tian Xiaoqin.

"Maybe I'm thinking too much?" Tian Xiaoqin tugged at the strap of the backpack, "Didn't we sit next to each other on the way back, he...he insisted on showing me the photos he took, just looking at it... ... put an arm around my waist."

Li Yuechi was silent for two seconds, and asked, "Did he do it on purpose?"

"I don't know, maybe it was unintentional... right? I don't think Teacher Tang is that kind of person," Tian Xiaoqin paused, "Look, when Bao Lei harassed me, he kicked him out .”

Before Li Yuechi could speak, she shook her head and said, "I should be thinking too much, so don't tell others."

"Ah."

"Let's go quickly," Tian Xiaoqin said, "An Yun and the others are waiting."

Four minutes to eight, Tang Heng received a call from Jiang Ya.The subway was crowded, but fortunately Tang Heng grabbed a corner, and Li Yuechi stood beside him, holding on to the railing, and separated him from the other passengers with his arms.

"Brother!" Jiang Ya was very quiet, "Where are you fucking people!"

"On the way."

"Why is it so slow! The dishes are all ready!"

"Eat when you're hungry."

"That's so embarrassing, hehe."

"Bye."

"Hey - hurry up!"

They originally planned to go to the river beach to watch the fireworks after dinner, but Li Yuechi and Tian Xiaoqin came back late, so they must not be in time for dinner.Jiang Ya then proposed to eat at Jiangtan, he said he knew a river view restaurant where he could watch the fireworks show while eating.

"Come on," An Yun said, "There must be no place now."

Jiang Ya said proudly: "The owner of the restaurant is a brother of my father's brother."

In the end, he actually booked a place for him, a private room with a river view, and even a small balcony.

Tang Heng put the phone back into his pocket, and quietly looked at Li Yuechi's profile.After not seeing him for a few days, he felt that Li Yuechi's cheeks were a little thinner, maybe because he was too hard to go to the countryside.Surrounded by people, he couldn't do anything but look at Li Yuechi.

From the moment we met until now, I haven't even had a chance to hug.

Li Yuechi tilted his head slightly and met Tang Heng's gaze.He didn't say anything, just raised his eyebrows and smiled, as if to say, why are you peeking at me again?

Tang Heng also smiled, thinking that he would have been discovered anyway, so he looked at him intently.

When the subway arrived at Jianghan Road Station, almost everyone got off.In fact, this is Tang Heng's first New Year's Eve trip to Jiangtan - during New Year's Eve, he would either perform in a bar with Jiang Ya'anyun, or sleep at home. He doesn't like places with too many people.

"Fuck," Tang Heng heard An Yun curse, "It's too exaggerated."

I have never seen so many people in a subway station... As far as I can see, they are all young people, wearing all kinds of padded jackets and overcoats, rushing towards the exit.An Yun put her arms around Tian Xiaoqin's shoulders: "Xiaoqin, follow me closely."

Tang Heng slandered, but Lao An was very good at taking advantage of others.It's a pity that he and Li Yuechi couldn't be like this. Although the crowd was crowded into a black mass, it was still too strange for the two boys to hug each other.

Li Yuechi suddenly said, "Tang Heng." His voice was low.

"Huh?" Tang Heng's first reaction was, wouldn't he want to hug me too?The whole person suddenly tensed up.

Li Yuechi grabbed Tang Heng's right hand and stuffed it into his own pocket.

There was a bunch of keys in his pocket, which was cold.People in the subway station are next to each other like dumplings, so probably no one will pay attention to their hanging hands.Tang Heng touched Li Yuechi's pocket lightly. The first key he touched was the key of his dormitory, brass-colored and very old; the second key was the key of their rental house, which was matched in summer; The third key is the key of Tang Heng's bicycle lock, which is thin and long.

Tang Heng asked softly: "How are you these few days, are you going well?"

"It went well."

"do you miss me?"

Li Yuechi nodded, and squeezed Tang Heng's hand through his thin pocket, as if to say "don't make trouble".

By the time they arrived at the hotel, of course the fireworks show had already started.To Tang Heng's surprise, Lin Lang was also there.

"Little Tang!" Lin Lang patted Tang Heng's shoulder enthusiastically.

"Long time no see." Tang Heng said.

"Yeah, it's not the end of the year, I'm really busy!"

Tang Heng wanted to ask why you came since he was very busy, but knowing that this was impolite, he held back and didn't say anything.Jiang Yachang waved his hand and greeted: "Let's eat quickly, I'm starving to death."

"Hey, yes," Lin Lang sat beside him, "I've been eating chicken breast with the artist for a month."

"So miserable?"

"That can't be helped," Lin Lang said, "I can't eat chicken breast while I eat boiled fish next to it."

"Then sister Lin, eat more! This, his steamed Wuchang fish is a must."

"Okay, okay," Lin Lang said with a smile, "Eat more, and you will grow taller. I have old arms and legs."

Everyone was indeed hungry, and they ate like crazy.After a while, Tang Heng got up and said, "I'm going to make a phone call."

After leaving the private room, Tang Heng asked the waiter at the door: "Where should I pay the bill?"

The other party smiled slightly: "Your table has already been settled."

"Who paid for it?" They never had the habit of rushing to pay the bill when they had dinner together.

"That lady, the one in the gray coat."

Tang Heng said, "I see."

A group of people walked out of the hotel, Lin Lang put on his coat, smiled at them and said, "I'm going back to the hotel first, you guys play."

Jiang Ya said "ah": "Sister Lin, won't you celebrate the new year with us?"

"There is still some work to be done," Lin Lang walked towards An Yun, "Xiao An, let me remember your phone number?"

An Yun reported the number to her, and Lin Lang waved to everyone while clutching the phone: "See you later."

After Lin Lang left, Jiang Ya lit a cigarette: "I was strangled to death just now."

An Yun stared at him: "Could it be...she's over 30?!"

"Damn, where the hell are you thinking!" Jiang Ya said quickly, "I'm not talking about quality in front of outsiders. Let me tell you, Sister Lin watched our performance at lil that day and was very impressed. Interesting—you know what I mean?"

"Wow," Tian Xiaoqin exclaimed, "She wants to sign you?"

"Low-key, low-key," Jiang Ya grinned to her cheeks, "She said to see our game results first."

"Really?" An Yun looked a little dazed, "After listening to one of our songs, do you want to sign us?"

"That means we sang well!" Jiang Ya said with a smile, "The main reason is that Tang Heng sang well. The song "South" that day was absolutely perfect."

Tang Heng was unhappy at first, but Jiang Ya's mention of "The South" reminded him of his quarrel with Li Yuechi that night.Tang Heng said in his heart, Jiang Ya is a heartless fool.

"Okay, we'll discuss this matter later," An Yun tugged at Jiang Ya, "Let's move forward."

The location of the hotel is a bit remote. Although you can see the river beach, it is not located in a place where crowds gather.They walked along the Yanjiang Avenue, and in front of them was the second Yangtze River Bridge, which was shining brightly.Such a magnificent scene is indeed rare. The LED screens of the tall buildings on both sides of the river are all lit up, gold, red, and white complement each other, and several gleaming yachts are slowly driving on the river.Fireworks of various colors bloom in the night sky, and the surface of the Yangtze River is like a black mirror, reflecting the lights of tall buildings, yachts, the lights of the Second Yangtze River Bridge, and the blossoming fireworks.

They walked into the boiling crowd, singing, music, and cheers were everywhere. Although the wind was cold, it seemed that everyone had endless energy and didn't feel cold.

Tang Heng suddenly remembered that the last time he came here, it was him and Li Yuechi, and there were almost no people by the river in the middle of summer night.That night, Li Yuechi said, I am not gay.So he escaped from the river beach, then got motion sickness, vomited, and walked back to Hanyang University from Yuejiazui in the middle of the night, really embarrassed.

At that time, he felt that it was impossible for him to be with Li Yuechi, he didn't have such a chance.

"Tang Heng." Li Yuechi suddenly touched his arm.

"Huh?" Tang Heng looked at him.

"What are you thinking about?"

"nothing."

Li Yuechi whispered, "Are you unhappy?"

"No."

"Because of that night?"

"What night?"

"The night you sang "South", Li Yuechi smiled helplessly, "Is there any other night that made you angry?"

"Oh... I'm not unhappy, really."

Li Yuechi nodded and didn't ask any more questions.There are young people all around—probably only young people will brave the near-zero cold wind to come to the river beach for the New Year's Eve.With many young people, there are naturally many couples.Looking around, couples are cuddling together, some are hugging, some are kissing, and some are just looking at each other without speaking.

Tang Heng didn't want to admit that he envied them.

"Go over there," An Yun and Tian Xiaoqin walked over, "someone is singing."

Surrounded by the crowd, two young boys, one singing with a microphone and the other playing the guitar.They sang "newboy" by Pu Shu. Tang Heng remembered that this song was released in 1999 on the album "I'm Going to 2000", obviously to welcome the new millennium.Singing at this time is also very appropriate.

When they finished singing, there were sparse applause.Tang Heng suddenly pushed aside the crowd and stepped forward.

"Dude," he said to them, "can I sing a song?"

The boy with the guitar asked, "Are you the lead singer of Huster?"

"Yes," Tang Heng smiled, "It's me."

"I've heard your live show!" The boy looked very excited, and hurriedly handed his guitar to Tang Heng, "My guitar is cheap..." He was a little embarrassed again.

Tang Heng swept the strings, and simply said: "It's okay."

Tang Heng wanted to play the guitar, so he couldn't hold the microphone.The boy who sang said I'll hold it for you, Tang Heng shook his head and said, no need.

"People behind can't hear it," said the boy.

"It's fine if you can't hear it." Tang Heng said.

Li Yuechi had already squeezed in, standing opposite Tang Heng, separated by a young couple with a baby in their arms.

Tang Heng looked into his eyes: "This song is called "South."

"Wow——" Jiang Ya booed, "Who are you singing for?"

Tang Heng smiled, but said nothing.His left fingertips pressed on the strings, and with a sweep of his right hand, the guitar issued a smooth and crisp sound.So proficient, he doesn't even know how many times he has practiced this song, is it a hundred times?there must be.

It's still the tone of that night, it's still the tone of that night, it's always damp there, it's always soft there, there's always a lot of trivial things there, it's always red and blue there.After plucking the strings for the last time, Tang Heng looked into Li Yuechi's eyes and returned the guitar to the two boys.

"Why are you singing this song suddenly?" Li Yuechi whispered after walking out of the crowd.

"Didn't you hear it that night?"

"I thought you never wanted to sing again."

"Not really."

"..."

"If you want to hear it, it doesn't matter how many times I sing it," Tang Heng spoke slowly, "Do you understand what I mean, Li Yuechi. You are with me, there is nothing that is missed and there will be no second time Yes." Tang Heng thought to himself, what is "free"?Maybe it's free.As many times as he wants.

Li Yuechi stared at Tang Heng quietly. On the river, a yacht shining red sailed into his dark pupils, and then slowly sailed away from the darkness.

His eyes were dark and bright, Tang Heng joked, "You didn't cry, did you?"

"Soon." Li Yuechi said.

So the joke couldn't go on, they continued to walk forward, bypassing the crowd, and stood beside a square stone pier.

"I have some news to tell you." Tang Heng said.

"what?"

"I have received an offer from the University of Chicago."

"Oh... University of Chicago," Li Yuechi was silent for a few seconds, "University of Chicago?"

"Ah."

"Chicago sociology?"

"Two years."

"Great."

Yes, it's good, good—what sociology major hasn't heard of the Chicago School of Sociology?Dewey, Cooley, Burgess—but are you getting the point wrong, Li Yuechi?

"I'm going to America for two years."

"Come back after graduating in two years? Don't you want to study for a Ph. D?"

"..."

"So you see, it's still a long time," Li Yuechi said casually, looking at the river, "Anyway, I can afford to wait."

As midnight approached, there were more and more people on the river beach, and vendors with woven bags came in, hawking Kongming lanterns in a low voice.Kongming lanterns have not been banned for this year's New Year's Eve. When the gorgeous fireworks exploded in the night sky, several warm white Kongming lanterns swayed and rose, like a magnificent dream.

23:59 is displayed on the phone, and in one minute, it will be the new year.Tang Heng saw that the couple in front of him had already started kissing.The lights of the Second Yangtze River Bridge turned bright yellow, and the LED screens of the tall buildings opposite turned into pure white, very dazzling.The crowd has become agitated.

"Tang Heng!" Li Yuechi suddenly leaned into his ear, "Do you know the fable about the end of the world?"

"I know!" The surroundings were too noisy, so Tang Heng had to shout back, "2012, the end of the world!"

"Do you believe it?"

"Do not believe!"

"If it's true!" It was rare for him to ask such a childish question.

"That's not bad!"

"why?"

"I won't go abroad anymore!"

Li Yuechi smiled, his lips moved slightly, as if he wanted to say something.However, in the next second, people suddenly started screaming, and fiery red Arabic numerals appeared on the LED screen on the other side.

"10—" The countdown began.

"9—" There was a lot of voices.

"8——" My heart was pounding with shock.

"7——" 2012.

"6——" It would be great if they could also kiss.

"5——" Will we be able to spend New Year's Eve together next year?

"4——" He will probably be in the United States by this time next year.

"3——" Li Yuechi was still in Wuhan.

"2——" Li Yuechi turned around suddenly.

"1——" He kissed Tang Heng's lips.

Tang Heng stared wide-eyed, amidst the cheers and screams that filled the sky, he couldn't make any sound.

For the first time, they kissed in a crowd.

2012 has come.