Disciplinary Guidelines

Ji Yao was not on duty on Friday, so he handed over the work normally, then took a gift for Ge Xing from the lounge, and went out to squeeze the subway in the evening rush hour.

Zhou Qingbai is not short of money. Opening a bar is half for fun and half for entertainment, so he doesn't care about the traffic, and the location is very tricky.Few taxis are willing to come here at this point, and the efficiency is not as fast as the subway.

Ji Yao spent a long time on the road, and when he got out of the subway station, there was still more than half an hour before the appointed time, so he thought about it, and temporarily turned into a family next to the subway station.

He didn't spend much time on the road, but even so, he was the last one to arrive.

Zhou Qingbai's lover works as an audit worker and flies around the sky all year round. He spends more time on business trips than at work, so he didn't attend the party this time.

Of the remaining Jiang Heng and Ge Xing, one is the leader of the company, and the other is a freelance self-employed. Both of them have more leisure time than Ji Yao.

"Xiao Ji!" Zhou Qingbai's sharp eyes saw Ji Yao who had just entered the door, and waved to him.

There were not many people in the bar, and they had known each other for a long time, Zhou Qingbai simply pulled up a folding table next to the bar, surrounded a small booth, and several people gathered together to peel salted peanuts.

Jiang Heng seemed to still remember the doctor's order to reduce smoking, drink and less stimulation. In front of him was not the whiskey on ice he usually drank, but a glass of clear cocktail.

Ji Yao walked up to him and sat down, looking at the glass of wine several times.

"No alcohol." Jiang Heng said, "Mint water is the base."

Dr. Ji was very satisfied with his understanding of current affairs, he took out the plastic bag hooked on his fingertips, and handed him a bottle of milk.

Jiang Heng took it and touched it, and found that it was still warm, so he unscrewed the bottle of milk and put it next to the cocktail.

"Just got off work?" Jiang Heng handed him the peeled salted peanuts and asked, "Have you eaten yet?"

"No, I didn't have time." Ji Yao said, "Qingbai, do you have a snack plate for me?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a man wearing a Meituan uniform ran in from the door of the bar, holding a square box of sandwiches in his hand, looking around with his mobile phone, and asked, "Who is Mr. Ji Yao?"

Ji Yao subconsciously turned his head to look at Jiang Heng, only to see Lawyer Jiang throw a salted peanut into his mouth, and said, "Reciprocity is a courtesy."

Zhou Qingbai stood at the bar, lying on half of his body on the counter, and witnessed all this from beginning to end, his eyes were startled and suspicious, and he couldn't stop glancing at Ge Xing.

If other friends were like this, they would have less to say to coax, but since the protagonists are the two of them, Zhou Qingbai seemed very cautious.

He took a sip of his wine and frantically sent Ge Xing a WeChat message.

"What's going on?" Zhou Qingbai poked two exclamation points on the screen: "Didn't it mean that the two of them fought to the death and never interacted with each other, and wished that they would not appear on the same planet with each other in this life?"

Ge Xing was almost suffocated by his long string of unpunctuated descriptions, so he answered him with a question mark and asked, "Who said that?"

"Don't they all say that?" Zhou Qingbai asked in wonder, "What are they doing now?"

"Don't ask me." Ge Hongniang was rarely touched by the blind spot of knowledge: "I don't know either."

Ge Xing was originally sitting next to Jiang Heng, and he stopped replying to Zhou Qingbai after saying this. He put his mobile phone face down on the bar, leaned against the bar with his head supported, and waved to Jiyao with a smile.

"Come on, it's been a long time." Ge Xing said, "One or two good ones don't learn, they learn to play and disappear."

Ji Yao knew that Ge Xing's words were half-truths and half-false complaints about him in front of Jiang Heng, so he smiled and said nothing, and put the prepared souvenir on the bar and pushed it over.

"Gaoqiao muffins." Ji Yao said, "It's not expensive, so enjoy yourself."

After breaking up with Jiang Heng, Ji Yao left Beijing within a few months and went to Shanghai to find a way out.Due to the shifting of the living circle and the sequelae of the breakup, Ji Yao did not communicate with these old friends in Beijing very often, so he would greet him a few more times during the New Year and holidays.

Ge Xing didn't ask them to come here for drinking and having fun, but more because of embarrassment, so he couldn't help but want to get together with his old friends for another reunion.

They are no longer boys in their early twenties. Old friends reunite after a long absence. Although they are not unfamiliar, they always have a lot to say.

Life is difficult, whether it is the young master who is not short of money or the pillar of the self-supporting family, there are some difficulties, but they are too old to complain and complain, so after three rounds of drinking, the only one who has not touched a drop of alcohol Jiang Heng took the lead in standing up from this lukewarm atmosphere, and asked Zhou Qingbai where there was a smoking room.

"In the back, take the stairs next to the storage room to the second floor, there is a small roof." Zhou Qingbai lay on the bar and pointed him in the direction: "Just don't throw cigarette butts around, this is an old house, be careful of fire."

After Jiang Heng left, Ji Yao pushed the cup towards Zhou Qingbai, motioning him to refill.

"Do you want brandy?" Zhou Qingbai asked.

Ji Yao nodded.

"Drink less." Zhou Qingbai refilled his glass. Just as he was about to say something more, he saw that the two tables in the corner of the bar seemed to smell of gunpowder, so he looked pale and hurried to adjust.

All of a sudden, only Ji Yao and Ge Xing were left at the bar. Ge Xing looked at his expression, narrowed his mouth, and asked, "You and Jiang Heng...what's going on now?"

Ji Yao is not surprised that he will mention this matter. Ge Hongniang's life goal in this life is to make a couple count as a couple, and the three sentences are all important things in life.

"That's the way it is." Ji Yao said, "You saw it."

"Want to get back together?" Ge Xing asked.

Ji Yao pursed his lips, pinched the wine glass with his fingertips, and turned half a circle under the lamp.The light on the bar fell on the prismatic cup, folding out a few strands of diamond light.

"I don't know either." Ji Yao lowered his eyes and said in a low voice: "And to be honest, when a person grows up to this age, there should be many things that can't be done without thinking."

Ge Xing held the wine glass with his fingertips, and his wrists hung down from the bar. He sat on the swivel chair and turned around, with his back against the bar, and suddenly reached out to clink a glass with Ji Yao.

"Do you know where I met Jiang Heng?" Ge Xing asked.

"Isn't it in Beijing?" Ji Yao asked.

Ge Xing's family's business is all in Beijing, and it has only started to develop in Shanghai and Shenzhen in recent years. In Ji Yao's impression, Ge Xing seems to seldom leave Beijing.

"In Shanghai." Ge Xing knocked lightly on the bar counter with his wine glass, and said in a low voice, "It's even in the old city."

Ji Yao looked at him puzzled, as if he didn't know what was the point of him bringing up this topic.

Ge Xing was silent for a while, took a sip of his wine, raised his eyebrows suddenly, and winked at Ji Yao.

"Tell you a secret that even Jiang Heng doesn't know." Ge Xing said: "—Actually, I eloped to Shanghai with my lover at that time."

He didn't use words like "predecessor" or "first love", so Ji Yao straightened his back subconsciously, preparing to face this issue with a more serious attitude.

But the problem is that Ji Yao has known Ge Xing for so many years, but he has never heard him say that he has a lover.

Boss Ge hangs around nightclubs, bars and other entertainment venues day and night, and has contacts all over the corners. He spends 360 days a year, and he spends 360 days outside playing.

But he never wanted to fall in love, he didn't have any company around him, he always came and went in a hurry, and was alone.A friend asked him jokingly, and he always said that he is a "fraternity party" and does not stick to any weak water.

Now hearing the word "lover" from his mouth, Ji Yao instinctively felt a little weird.

"Lover?" Ji Yao asked, "Then you—"

Ji Yao wanted to ask if he broke up, but Ge Xing seemed to have guessed what he said, so he took a sip of his wine and cut off his question.

"He's dead." Ge Xing said flatly.

Sometimes life is more vulgar than a bad TV series, because literary and artistic works need logic and rationality, but reality does not.

Destiny only ends abruptly when no one notices, without even an explanation.

"His name is Shen An." Ge Xing said, "Three years older than me, so he is my... childhood sweetheart?"

When he mentioned this name, the smile that Boss Ge had always had on his face suddenly faded a lot. His whole person seemed to be covered with a layer of haze, and his whole body exuded a sense of decay that had lasted for years.

It was as if he had finally lifted the protective film over himself, revealing a tiny bit of who he really was.

"Actually, I don't like racing cars, but he likes them." Ge Xing said, "He won the CRC championship on his birthday. He was very happy that day and even gave me the trophy."

Shen An is a very flamboyant person. He is born beautiful and lives like a phoenix flower. He is naturally enthusiastic and brilliant, and he is the center of the crowd wherever he is placed.

He is three years older than Ge Xing, and since he was a child, he has regarded the little Douding following him as his property, and he will protect him wherever he goes. When he was not sensible, he even told the adults several times that he would marry his younger brother as his wife.

People like Shen An are naturally attractive, and Ge Xing is a natural crook, so he couldn't figure out when and why he fell in love with Shen An, but when he came back to his senses, his heart and eyes were all about him up.

The teenager's love is crazy and undisguised, just like Shen An. Their affairs were quickly discovered by the parents of both parties, and then, not surprisingly, they received crazy opposition from the two families.

The teenagers in the love period were rebellious and self-centered. Shen An was only 19 years old at the time. He ran from home to Ge Xing's house in a big snowstorm, and held his hand through the window railing.

"Let's elope." Shen An said.

Ge Xing was not yet an adult at that time, but when he looked at Shen An's reddish eye sockets in the heavy snow, the string of reason in his mind was suddenly broken.His blood was full of enthusiasm, and he had a desperate courage, as if it didn't matter where he went as long as he held these hands.

In fact, thinking about it now, the "elopement" at that time was naive and low-level. If the parents of the two parties did not intend to let them go out to suffer, I am afraid they would not even be able to leave Beijing.

"Actually, it's quite silly to think about it. I was young at the time, had no hardships, and lacked social experience." Ge Xing suddenly smiled, and said: "Everyone elopes to the deep mountains and old forests. Let's run to Shanghai, and forget it. Eating and drinking too much didn't reduce the quality of life at all."

Shen An had 10,000+ left in his bank card at the time, and Ge Xing's pocket was cleaner than his face. He didn't bring anything with him when he came out of the house, and ran away with him only with impulse.

The two of them, who competed with each other, rented an apartment after they ran to Shanghai, and half of their savings were paid for the rent for one year.

In the first few months, the two of them lived a little free and unruly life.After leaving Beijing, they seemed to have left the shackles of the birdcage, and began to hold hands, kiss, and do more intimate things recklessly, tasting pure and passionate love.

That kind of love is like a blazing flame that can crush all blows of reality.

But within a few months, they gradually realized that something was wrong-the money in their pockets was getting less and less, and what they faced was no longer a utopian love, but a challenge of firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar and tea.

Ge Xing still remembered the day when they were about to run out of savings, Shen An sat cross-legged on the carpet in the living room and counted the balance in the text message several times.

That day was the first time Ge Xing felt panic. The teenager realized that things were out of control, so he became restless.

"It's okay." But Shen An held his hand and said, "I'll think of a way. If I bring it out for you, I won't make you suffer."

The Shen family is richer than the Ge family. Shen An has been a pampered son since childhood, but the next day after that, Shen An ran out to find a job.

He was 19 years old, and he eloped before finishing college. If he wanted education but no education, no background, no one would use him.Finally, he searched for half a month and found a job as a car mechanic.

Thinking about it now, Ge Xing doesn't even know what is supporting Shen An and making him bend down so easily.

He used to spend six figures to change a racing car part, but now he can get his body covered in oil for a salary of 4000 yuan a month.

"He really worked hard." Ge Xing said: "He is really willing to give up his good life, even if he is a car mechanic, he still wants to be with me."

Ge Xing was really touched at that time, but his panic was also real.

Every day when Shen An went home, he was so tired that he couldn't lift his spirits up. There were always bruises on his body. In just a few months, he lost a lot of weight.

Ge Xing felt sorry for him to the point of death, and even had the idea of ​​"how about not being soft".

So on New Year's Day of that year, before Shen An got off work, Ge Xing searched aimlessly at home for a flight ticket back to Beijing.

He felt that heaven and man were at war in his heart. On the one hand, he felt that it was really hard work for Shen An, and on the other hand, he also felt that if he gave in, he would be sorry for Shen An's persistence in the past few months.

Ge Xing was very confused. He didn't want to continue living such a life without a future, but he never wanted to go home and bow to his parents.

There is no doubt that he loves Shen An, but it is because of love that he can't turn a blind eye to Shen An's suffering. He really can't figure out what is love and what is better.

He couldn't think of a result, the boy's heart couldn't weigh the pros and cons, and he couldn't bear the painful self-blame and powerlessness, so he ran out, found a convenience store and bought a bunch of pre-mixed wine, squatted on the side of the road and went crazy drink.

But halfway through his drink, he forgot one fatal thing.

——During that time, Shen An wanted to be promoted to be a refitting technician, so after get off work, he would always search the Internet for information and prepare materials according to the current market demand.

But Ge Xing ran out too quickly, and the ticket purchase page was still on the desktop, and he didn't have time to exit.

"It was raining heavily in Shanghai that day, and Shen An came out to look for me with a customer's car from their auto repair shop, and it ended up in a car accident." Ge Xing said: "He stepped on the wrong gas pedal and brake, so he hit a lamp post, and he was on the spot. It's gone."

Until now, Ge Xing didn't know whether Shen An saw the ticket purchase information he left on the computer desktop that day.

Whether he wanted to come to Ge Xing to ask what happened after seeing the news, or just came out to pick him up because of the heavy rain, Ge Xing would never know the answer in his life.

It is not a heinous thing for a young man to waver for a moment. If Shen An hadn't died, after many years, maybe this matter could still be used as a topic of discussion.

But it happened that he was dead, and everything was different.

"The courage, love, and persistence all changed in an instant." Ge Xing turned his head, looked at Ji Yao fixedly, and asked, "Do you know what has changed?"

Ji Yao was in a complicated mood when he heard it, as if he had also drank a jar of bitter water for many years, which made his heart sour.

"What?" he asked.

"It has become a joke." Ge Xing drank the wine in his glass and said, "It's a defeat, it's a betrayal, it's a waste of all previous efforts, a crushing defeat."

Just like Shen An, who was clearly a top racing driver, but died because of stepping on the wrong accelerator and brake, this unobtainable answer is destined to lead to bitter fruit in Ge Xing's heart.

Destiny is always like this, the left side is erroneous, and the right side is predestined, whichever is pain.

"At that time, neither of us had a penny in savings. I sold a Patek Philippe that we had promised at a discounted price, and lost the customer a new car. The remaining 20 yuan was bought for him in a cemetery." Ge Xing said: "Then I I went to the bar to get drunk with no money, and met Jiang Heng, who paid the bill for me."

Ji Yao's heart was twisted into a rag, he took a breath, he didn't even know how to evaluate this matter.

"Family is very important." Ge Xing said softly, "But they can't help you share the pain, regret, and sleepless nights because of it. The excitement of 'having a family' is not enough to make up for eating alone. It’s hard to get here. So you have to think about many things by yourself.”

Ji Yao knew what Ge Xing was talking about, he clenched the wine glass tightly, his knuckles were even faintly white.

"It's a good thing to make up for regrets." Ge Xing said, "Don't wait until the end to find out that the thing you regret the most is that you didn't say it clearly."

Ji Yao stood up abruptly.

Liquor is easy to hurt people, Ji Yao only felt his forehead tense, as if something was chasing after him, forcing him to take this step.

People always forget to eat but not to fight, Ji Yao suddenly thought.

He used to regret listening to Yizhi's words, and ran to the doomed road with all his heart, but now Ge Xing just told his own story, and his subconscious mind began to drift again.

Ge Xing was addressing him consciously, and Ji Yao could hear it, but as long as he put himself into the story a little bit, he would like to escape everything completely.

"There are many things that you have to decide for yourself." Ge Xing said slowly: "If you know that you will regret it the moment you make a decision, you must try in another direction."

Ji Yao's chest heaved violently for a moment, the strong wine he drank burned down his throat to his heart, and the pain made his whole body tremble.

So he didn't say a word, turned his head and walked back.

Ge Xing watched his back going to the second floor, hooked Zhou Qingbai's unrecovered wine bottle with his fingertips, filled himself with another half glass of brandy, then flipped his wrist and spilled the wine on the ground.

"There are so many pairs, there must be someone who won't miss it." He said to himself.